


Fate meets Emma Swan

by HeleSL



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2018-12-15 20:04:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 80,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11813241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeleSL/pseuds/HeleSL
Summary: Modern AU. Emma takes a vacation before she starts her new job at a good creative agency. A simple game in the pool will lead her to a life changing moment. Slow burn kind of fic. Hope you like it!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know I should be working in another fic but I kind of had this story stuck in my head. I do not own Once Upon a Time or Spider Man or whatever reference I make. English is not my first language so sorry for any mistakes you find. I hope you enjoy this story! Let me know what you think.

Emma eyed the computer as the receptionist typed something on the keyboard. She had handed the young girl her ID a while ago and after scanning it, she still hadn't got it back. Emma tapped her fingers on the wooden surface but stopped when she realized. She was there on vacation, forced by her best friend Ruby, and she had to relax. That's why she was there.

It had been so long since she had gone on vacation. Too long to even remember—she did remember, but she wanted to forget those braces she had wore during that 90's summer with an adoptive family she doesn't even remember anymore—.

After a few years of working as a creative in a boring company, she had finally left her job there and found another company to work for with Ruby, her friend since childhood. However, before she started working, Ruby insisted she took a week off. So that's why she was now at the reception of some apartments she had found on the Internet with a 20% offer.

"Here you go, ma'am," the receptionist said with a smile as she slid the ID and another card towards Emma. "Your room is number 041. You can find it going out and turning right. There are signs that will help you find it without any trouble. In the room you'll find a folder with all the information you may need."

Emma nodded as she took in the information and put her ID back into the front pocket of her bag, thinking she should probably buy a real wallet. "Cool, thanks," she smiled.

The receptionist grinned in return in a way that told Emma she had done it too many times before to make it look almost genuine. Almost. "Thank you. Have a nice stay."

Leaning down to pick up her bags, Emma smiled one last time and left the reception, turning right as the young girl had indicated her. She had been right; Emma found the apartment quickly following the signs that led the way. Balancing the bags in one hand, she managed to pull out the card from the envelope and opened the door. Once inside, she dropped her bags—two gym bags she owned since she was too lazy to buy a proper suitcase—and stretched.

The room wasn't big, but it was enough for her. It had a cosy living room, a full equipped kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom. She would have liked a hotel more, where she could just relax and not care about making her meal everyday, but her shitty paid from her last job wouldn't let her afford it. How bad could it be? Emma had thought. She would just buy some pre-cooked pizzas, cereal and milk. She could live with that.

Emma walked over to the door that covered a whole wall and rolled the curtains to reveal a lovely terrace with a table, two chairs, and two hammocks. It was half stone, half grass, making it look wonderful under the sunny afternoon. Emma rolled on her heels and was about to turn on the TV when her hand stopped midway to the remote. She was a few feet away from a great pool, or so it looked from the pictures on the apartment's web page. Why would she spend her days off sitting on a couch and watching TV when she could just do that at her house? Leaning down to reach for her bags, she carried them to the bedroom, where she opened the one she thought her bikini was in. After changing in the bathroom and pulling her hair up in a ponytail, Emma grabbed her towel, sunglasses and a ball and left her room.

* * *

One of the best things about having vacations on September was that the apartments weren't too full and it allowed Emma to relax. She quickly found a lonely hammock free on the side of the pool and she lifted her towel to lay it there. She took a seat, but her eyes found the pool and found it looked like it was praying for her to dive in. Luckily, on that time of year the weather was still warm enough for her to feel hot and dying to get into the pool.

Emma left her glasses and approached the edge of the pool, eyeing the few kids that were playing there, along with some more people. It wasn't a big pool, but since there weren't a lot of clients, it was perfect. She jumped into the pool, headfirst, and emerged a few moments later feeling refreshed. Maybe Ruby was right and she really needed this vacation. She closed her eyes and smiled at the sun, now oblivious to the kid that was approaching the hammocks.

"Mom, look! There's a ball!" he pointed when he saw the object next to Emma's hammock.

His mother gazed to where her son was pointing and then put her hand on his back, redirecting him to their hammocks. "Henry, that's not yours to take."

"But I forgot to bring mine," he pouted. Henry kept eyeing the ball as his mother knelt down in front of him to take his shirt off before spraying the sunscreen on his chest. "Maybe I could ask the person who has it if I can play with them?"

Regina looked over to the single hammock with a simple towel on it. "If you find them, you may. But remember to always be polite." She finished spreading the sunscreen and rose to her feet.

Henry nodded with a bright smile. "Yeah, mom."

He ran to the pool, ready to jump in, but before he could, Regina was wick to remind him. "Keep in the children's area, Henry. You know you still can't swim very well."

Looking around them, Henry flushed and nodded softly, hoping nobody in the pool had heard it. He hated when his mother said it out loud. Luckily for them, the pool had a large area for kids, with no more than half a metre of depth where he could sit and play around with his toys.

His mother settled down on the hammock, putting on her sunscreen and then laying down to enjoy the sun while she read a book. By the corner of her eye though, she was watching Henry, since she was in the first row of hammocks, right next to the pool. He splashed around and while he played with a little boat, he threw it away and it hit Emma's head.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed, bringing up her hand to the back of her head. She turned and saw the kid looking at her with wide eyes. Emma noticed the toy boat floating next to her and she grabbed it. "Is this yours little man?"

He nodded quickly but remained quiet, watching her. She smiled when she noticed he seemed scared that she would scream at him. Swimming towards him, she sat on the pool, where the water now reached below her bikini top.

"That was a nice shot. You like to throw things, huh?" she asked as she handed him the toy.

Henry shrugged, accepting the boat. "I forgot my ball and this is the best I have."

Emma looked down at him. He looked lonely, playing with is toys, so she thought she could play with him for a while. She had nothing to do anyways and it looked like the kid wanted some company.

"Well, I just happen to have a ball. Wanna play with me?"

Henry's eyes shot up at her, glowing with the idea of finding someone willing to play with him and owned a ball. He smiled brightly and nodded, "That would be awesome."

Emma laughed at that. "Okay, let me grab it and I'll be back."

While she got out of the pool, Henry took the chance to collect all his toys and take them to the edge of the pool so they wouldn't get lost. By the time Emma was back though, he was already in the pool waiting for her. She threw the ball at him from outside the pool and he jumped to get it, giggling. At that noise, Henry's mother lowered the book to look at her son and saw him playing with a blonde woman. They were passing the ball, higher every time, and Henry was smiling so much his face was almost swallowed by his grin.

She watched them play for a while, forgetting the book completely. The other girl's hair was glowing like it was gold, and she was smiling too, even laughing when Henry missed the ball. She tilted her head, studying that woman who was playing with her son so happily.

After a while, another kids joined them, and Emma took the chance to take a break. She may be playing with kids but man, it was tiring. She approached the edge of the pool and sat there, letting the sun kiss her pale skin and dry the little drops that fell down her body. She watched the kids playing with a smile on her face.

Suddenly, someone took a seat next to her. When Emma raised her gaze, her breath hitched at the sight of easily the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on. Her hair was short and it brushed her shoulders as the soft wind played with the silky dark tresses. Her sun kissed skin created a good contrast with the white bikini she was wearing, and as Emma subtly glanced down, she noticed that woman was smoking hot. She was wearing sunglasses, so her eyes were hidden behind them and it added her persona a mystery vibe that attracted Emma.

"Are you a part of the animation team?" she suddenly said once she had taken a seat next to Emma.

The blonde tilted her head, "Uh…no." She hadn't meant it to be some witty, funny answer, but somehow it made the other woman smile and Emma suddenly could feel every heartbeat like a hammer in her chest.

"Pardon me," she said looking towards the pool. "It would appear so since you're so good with kids."

Emma shrugged, following her gaze. Henry was waving his arms, calling for another kid to pass him the ball. "Give them a ball and you already are half way done."

"There are people who would not agree on that. Technology has taken its toll on the society," she pointed out.

"Are you one of those people?" Emma asked arching an eyebrow, but instead of answering, the other woman smiled. "Anyways, there may be a lot of videogames out there, but nothing can replace a pool and a ball."

"Strong ideas, I see," she commented, making Emma eye her curiously. It was like if she was passing a test.

"Mom!" they heard Henry yelling. Both woman averted their eyes from each other and saw him approaching them with the ball. "Did you see that? I just flew over Michael and caught the ball!"

Henry stopped in front of them and Emma frowned, not quite sure if he was referring to her. He had said  _mom_  and the woman sitting next to her couldn't be his mother.

"I did, honey. It was amazing, but be careful. We don't want to end up in a hospital like last year now, do we?" She answered sweetly. Emma blinked at her, surprised to notice the change in her voice and the fact that  _she_ was Henry's  _mother._

He frowned at the memory and shook his head to himself before gazing up and smiling at his mother. Then he looked at Emma, "Emma, you have to come back. They are destroying us!"

Emma laughed softly and nodded. "I'll be right back, kid. You go ahead and distract them." He grinned and saluted her before swimming away. Emma looked over to the other woman and raised her eyebrows.

"Go ahead, your team needs you," she smiled as she nodded towards Henry. "I should tell you that Henry doesn't like to lose, so you better give the best of yourself."

"Always do," Emma smiled before jumping into the water and joining the kids, aware of a pair of eyes hidden by sunglasses that were following her.

* * *

"Do it again!" Henry exclaimed excitedly as he swam back to Emma. It was late now; the sun was coming down and the sky was starting to die a bright orange. There was barely anyone else in the pool, only them and a few other people, but the kids they had been playing with before were gone.

After a while of playing with the ball, they had left it aside and were just playing around. In the spare of an hour Emma had been a shark, a crocodile, a swan, a whale and a mermaid. At some point, she had grabbed Henry and had thrown him in the air, making him fly for a second before landing on the pool. He had liked it and Emma had lost the count on how many times he has asked her to do it.

She grabbed him by his waist and shook him. "All ready in the Mills spaceship." He shook his head and Emma tilted her head. "Mmm Spider Man spaceship?" This time Henry nodded and wiggled in her hands, getting ready for it. "Okay then, all ready in the Spider Man spaceship. Take off in one…two…and three!"

Emma raised him from the pool and threw him forward. He giggled in the air for a moment before he landed on the water. She walked closer to make sure he emerged in time and when she saw him struggling, she helped him. He went out of the water taking a deep breath of air and wearing a smile on his face. His hair was covering his eyes and Emma pushed it back.

"You okay, buddy?" He nodded before coughing a little and she smiled. "Mission accomplished," she said imitating the voice of a radio, making him laugh.

Henry looked behind her and his eyes opened even more. "Mom is coming to the pool!" He tried to swim towards her, but it was taking him too long, so he approached to the edge of the pool with Emma's help and gripped it as he made his way there.

Emma raised her gaze and saw his mother walking with an elegance Emma didn't think it would be possible in a pool and stopped at the edge, where Henry was already waiting, looking up at her. She smiled down at him and took off her sunglasses, giving her hair a whip. Emma swallowed at the sight. After leaving her sunglasses with Henry, she jumped headfirst in the pool and Emma considered that she must be a professional swimmer because it wasn't normal for someone to be so elegant in all her moves.

When she emerged, she pushed her hair back and came back with Henry, who left the pool's edge and jumped into her arms, putting her sunglasses on. She laughed as he moved his head, most likely imitating her. Emma could stare at that scene forever, but she caught herself in time when Henry's mother looked at her. She said something and he rose a little to whisper in her ear.

"Emma?" she called out loud, surprising the blonde.

"Emma is a spaceship!" Henry explained to his mother. Emma smiled awkwardly, suddenly hesitating about throwing him in the air without his mother's permission.

"I saw that," she said, walking closer to Emma and raising an eyebrow at her.

"I'm sorry if…" Emma started, but the mother shook her head softly with a smile. She looked at the kid in her arms and took her sunglasses to put them on. However, Emma had already seen those bright brown eyes that were making her head dizzy.

Henry seemed to ignore that interaction and left his mother's arms to jump into Emma. "Look mom. Do it Emma!"

"Henry, don't boss around," she scolded him, but Emma shook her head with a smile.

"It's okay." She grabbed him and swung him. "One, two and three!" She threw him and it splashed them, making them look away and, in the process, get a little closer.

"I guess I would have to pay you for you nanny services," the woman said as they watched Henry come out of the water. They reached for him at the same time and he came back to his mother's arms.

"Please, I had as much fun as he did."

Henry wiggled and she let him go so he could go to the edge of the pool, probably to get his toys. "Still, spending all evening with him and even  _losing_  the game."

Emma laughed and nodded, "You were right; he doesn't take losing very good. But he just needs the right distraction to forget about it."

"Do you have children, Emma?" she suddenly asked. The use of her name and the personal question threw Emma a little off balance, but she quickly recovered, shaking her head.

"No, I guess I just like them."

"I can tell."

Emma looked at her and saw the corners of her mouth quirking up, but she had no time to say anything else when Henry came back. He brought them where he could stand without drowning and started to give them his toys, but his mother stopped him.

"Henry, we have to go soon. I have to make dinner."

He pouted at her, "Just a little longer, mom. So I can show Emma my toys?"

She looked pointedly over at the blonde, "I'm not sure she has time either. She has to make dinner too, don't you Emma?"

Emma got the message on her tone and nodded at Henry. "I kinda do, kid. I'm sorry. You can show me tomorrow."

"Or you can come have dinner with us so I can show you the ones I have in my room!" he said, looking between the two women. They looked at each other, matching surprised expression on their faces.

"I…" Emma started, but she was cut off by Henry's mother.

"Actually, it would be a good way to make up for it for taking care of my son all evening."

Emma opened her mouth to refuse but she saw Henry's brown eyes, matching his mother's, and there was something in her that stopped her. What the hell? She had no plans for dinner, she didn't even have food, and having dinner with one of the hottest woman she had ever seen was the best turn of events she could think of. Also, she had been invited, so it's not like she was going there unwanted.

"Yeah, okay. Why not?" she shrugged and both Henry and his mother smiled.

"Awesome!" he exclaimed, splashing water around.

"Okay, then let's go Henry. You have to take a shower before dinner so we should get going." This time he nodded and obeyed his mother as he got out of the pool. Alone again, the woman turned to Emma. "If you don't want to come or had enough of Henry, it's okay if you decline. I can make something up," she whispered.

Emma shook her head, "No, it sounds pretty great actually. My plans involved take out pizza and TV, so this is much better."

The woman stared at her, like analyzing her words. After a moment she smiled softly. "We're in room 108, on the first floor going that way," she pointed at the stairs. "Are you allergic to something?"

Emma wasn't expecting that question and blinked. The woman smiled to herself and clarified, "Just in case I cook something that makes you sick."

"Oh no," Emma answered. "I can take everything."

She nodded and walked away in the pool. "See you later then, Emma."

The blonde froze for a moment, feeling a shiver running down her spine at both the way that woman said her name and the way she got out of the pool gracefully. But something snapped inside of her, that in the last minute she called for her.

"Wait!" Henry's mother turned at the edge of the pool, glancing at her from above. "I didn't get your name."

"I'm Regina," she said, her lips curving. "Regina Mills."

Emma nodded and watched them go. Henry waved at her and she waved back, but she was in autopilot, the name of Regina Mills echoing in her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Suddenly Emma didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know what time she should appear in Regina and Henry’s room, what she should wear and if she was supposed to take something to dinner like wine. It wasn’t a date, so it wasn’t formal per se, but with the way Regina moved Emma felt like if she was dealing with royalty.

She opened her bags on the bed, spraying their contents on the mattress. Throwing the bags aside, Emma stood in front of the bed, her hands on her hips and still wearing her bikini as she eyed the amount of clothes she had brought. She changed her mind and decided to take a shower first so her hair could dry before going out.

It wasn’t a long shower, but when Emma got out she checked the time and calculated how much time it would take for a kid and a woman to have a shower and get dressed. She wrapped her body with a soft towel and passed a hand over the mirror to clean it from the steam. The reflection of a wet version of herself stared back at her, and she grimaced when she noticed her cheeks were slightly red from the sun. She was regretting now not putting sunscreen on that day.

Leaving the bathroom, she came back to the bedroom and sighed at the pile of clothes; she had kind of hoped it had magically chosen an outfit for her. In the end, she picked a pair of jeans that she thought hugged her legs the best and a green sleeveless blouse, going formal but not too much.

After getting dressed, drying her hair a little with the hair dryer and putting on some light make up, she checked herself on the mirror and rolled her eyes at her reflection. “Oh my god, Emma chill. It’s just dinner with a kid. And his hot mom. The mom that says your name like it’s pure sex.” She closed her eyes and sighed, “It’s okay. You got this.”

With one last look in the mirror, Emma left her room determined. She figured she was early, so she decided to walk to the main building and go to the supermarket to buy a good wine. Or at least a bottle of decent wine. There wasn’t much to choose from and she was no specialist on wines, so she pulled out her phone and texted Ruby.

**Hey, if you had white wine, rosé and red wine, what would you choose?**

_Weird question. Why?_

**Can you help me out answering the question?**

_What food are you having?_

**I don’t know.**

_YOU HAVE A DATE ALREADY?_

**Ruby. Wines.**

_Okay. Is there Chardonnay?_

**I don’t know.**

_Just read the tag on the white wines._

**Okay there is one. This one good?**

_It’s sweet._

**Cool thanks.**

_You have a date???_

Emma put her phone back into her pocket and picked the wine her friend had told her. As she was paying, she felt her phone still vibrating so she glanced at it and saw a series of texts from Ruby.

_Emma answer me._

_I know you saw the text._

_Is it a date?_

_????_

_If it is I’m going there on my next vacation. It hasn’t even been one day girl!_

_You can tell her her eyes are as sparkling as a glass of Chardonnay ;)_

_Emma?_

_Ugh, okay, good luck._

Emma smiled at it and shook her head. She glanced at the hour and decided it had been enough time for them to have a shower, so she walked to the room 108, following Regina’s direction. It was close to her room and easy to get too. Once in front of the door, Emma released a breath and raised her hand to knock, but stopped and instead leaned to a side to ring the bell.

The door opened almost immediately and she found Henry on the other side, still wearing his swimsuit and holding a dinosaur. “Emma!” he beamed.

“Hey Henry. Nice dinosaur.”

He seemed to realize in that moment he was holding it and lifted it. “Her name is Tiara and she doesn’t eat other dinosaurs because she’s good.”

“I like her. She looks funny,” Emma smiled down at him.

Henry giggled, “He’s a toy Emma.”

Regina emerged behind him before she could answer him, cleaning her hands with a cloth. “Hello Emma,” she greeted with a smile before looking down at Henry. “Time to have that shower, Henry.”

His lower lip jutted out but she raised an eyebrow and it was enough for him to nod and lower his head. “Okay. I’ll show Emma the rest later.” He walked behind his mother and left them alone at the door.

Regina lifted her gaze and Emma could swear she was being hypnotized by those deep brown eyes. “Shall we?” she asked motioning inside. Emma nodded and followed her inside the room, closing the door behind her. “I’m sorry Henry isn’t ready. He insisted to be here when you came so he waited in case you arrived when he was at the shower.”

“It’s okay. It’s kinda cute.” Emma noticed Regina’s room was bigger than hers. She could count two rooms, a bathroom and the living room was bigger than hers, as was the kitchen. When they stopped there, Emma could smell something delicious was cooking in the oven.

Regina turned and glanced down at Emma’s hands, arching a brow, making her come back to the moment. “I brought wine. I didn’t know what we were gonna have for dinner so I chose Chardonnay.”

Smiling gratefully, Regina took it when Emma handed her the bottle. “Thanks, but I hope you don’t mind we drink another one tonight. It goes better with what we’re having.”

“Oh, okay.” Emma blushed and shuffled her feet.

“I’ll save it for another day, when we have grilled fish,” Regina assured and the mention of another dinner didn’t go unnoticed by Emma, who smiled more relieved.

“Sounds good.” Emma looked around and stood awkwardly while Regina put the bottle of wine in the fridge. As she leaned down, Emma really tried not to look, but the way the skirt the other woman was wearing hugged her curves made it impossible for her to look away. She at least hoped the gulp had gone unnoticed.

“It smells good,” she commented forcing her eyes away. Regina rose and turned.

“Thanks. I made a vegetable lasagne. I hope you think it tastes as good as it smells.”

“I can already tell it will.”

Their gazes locked for a moment and Emma could hear her heartbeat loud in her ears. She forced her eyes away again, mentally scolding herself for letting herself go that easy, and scraped her throat.

“So, uhm, Henry can take a shower on his own or do you need to go help him?”

Regina scrutinized Emma for a beat before turning, finishing the task of cutting some bread she had started before the bell rang. “As long as he keeps the door open, he can do it himself. He insists that he is old enough.”

“Isn’t he like 4 or something?”

“Five, actually.” Regina put the pieces of bread on a plate and put all the things she had used in the sink. Then, she turned with the plate on her hands and offered it to Emma. “Garlic bread?”

She took a piece of it and smiled, “Thanks.” Regina nodded and walked past her to put the plate on the table.

“So what made you play with some kids today?” Regina stopped and turned to look at her, “You’re not a paedophile, are you?”

Emma laughed and shook her head, “God no, please.”

“And some kind of a psychopath?”

“Nope. All clean.”

Regina sighed relieved, “Good.”

Emma swallowed the last piece of bread and shrugged, “I saw Henry was a little lonely and I had nothing to do so…it happened.”

“Well, that was very kind of you,” Reina conceded. She lowered her voice, looking at where the bathroom was and got closer to Emma, making the blonde’s heart stop for a second. “Henry is usually quite shy and doesn’t like to talk to another people. It seemed he liked you because he won’t shut up about you.”

The last part was said lower, like if she was saying it to herself, and Emma couldn’t really tell if she had meant it like a good thing or a bad thing. Regina’s eyes met Emma’s and smiled.

“What I mean is that you brought up Henry’s most carefree nature around other people and I should thank you.”

Emma lowered her head, feeling slightly embarrassed, “Well, you are thanking me with this dinner.”

“Fair enough,” Regina nodded.

Henry appeared running in the room, wearing now what looked like his pyjamas. “I finished!” His hair was still wet and his cheeks were red, probably from the warm water.

“Did you turn the water off?” Regina asked and he nodded. “Did you put the clothes back into your room?” He nodded again. “And did you turn off the light of the bathroom?” He started to nod but stopped midway and opened his eyes.

Henry ran back to the bathroom and Regina glanced at Emma, crossing her arms on her chest and raising her eyebrows. A moment later he came back and nodded satisfied. “Lights off.”

“Very well,” Regina said tousling his hair. He shook his head and the drops flew towards them.

Emma kind of wished his hair had been wetter because Regina was wearing a white blouse and…. She shook her head. She had to stop thinking about that. It was just dinner and she didn’t even know if Regina was into woman.

Henry sat at the table, which was already set, and called her to sit with him. Regina walked over to the oven to take out the lasagne while Emma took a seat right in front of her, where she had a perfect view of Regina’s ass as she leaned down. The skirt she was wearing was knee length but it fit her so well Emma decided right there she now loved skirts.

Regina set the plate on the middle of the table and took a seat in front of her, next to Henry. She cut it and put a slice on the kid’s plate. Then she cut another and looked at Emma, who obediently lifted her plate for Regina to serve her. She was left for the last, cutting a slice a little smaller for her.

When Emma ate the first bite, her eyes closed before she could stop it and hummed with satisfaction. “God, this is delicious.”

She caught a flash of red on Regina’s cheek before she dipped her head slightly. Her smile though, that was visible. “Thank you, Emma.”

The dinner developed normally, with mostly Henry filling the silence telling stories about his dinosaur, about that day at the pool and about him doing grown up things, as he liked to call them. When they finished, Regina stood up to clean the table, but Emma was faster and picked up the empty plates and glasses before taking them to the sink.

“It’s okay. I can take care of this,” Regina said when Emma started to wash the dishes.

“I know, but it’s the least I could do. You prepared this meal so it’s only fair I do the clean up.” She turned and saw Henry absently playing with his toys on the couch while he watched the TV. “Unless you want him to do it. You know, since he is a grown up 5 year old kid,” she quipped.

Regina smiled and rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, leaning on the counter next to her. She could see Henry from there. “He has been saying that since his birthday. Being 5 is like being 21 for the adults.”

Emma could tell Regina was under the effects of the alcohol. She wasn’t drunk, none of them was, but she had taken 2 glasses of wine each and it was obvious in the relaxed posture she wore.

“He is a good kid,” Emma commented, hearing Regina’s agreeing with a hum. “Did you…raise him on your own?” she asked. During her time with them, she hadn’t heard any mention of a father, not even a father figure.

Regina nodded, but Emma could feel the change in her pose, getting defensive. “Yes. It has always been the two of us.”

Emma finished washing a plate and stopped to look at Regina. “It’s impressive really. How can you manage with all his energy all day, every day,” she joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

It seemed to do when Regina smiled, still looking at him, “At least it helps him sleep like a baby at night. He sleeps like there’s no tomorrow.”

“I can relate to that,” Emma laughed. Regina joined her and helped her put the glasses on the dryer.

“And what about you, Emma? You haven’t told anything about you,” Regina asked, curiosity sneaking in her words.

“Well, I did tell something.” Emma looked at her pointedly and smirked, “I said I wasn’t a psychopath.”

Regina rolled her eyes, but Emma was pleased to see the smile was still on her face. “Besides _that_ , your name and that you don’t have kids but you are good with them, we know nothing else.”

Emma noticed the ‘we’ in her sentence and wondered if that was a strategy to make her look less interested than she was. The blonde just shrugged. “There isn’t much apart of that really.”

“How about what do you do for a living?” Regina helped her.

“Right now? Nothing.” She saw Regina’s eyebrows shot up and explained before she could be questioned. “I quit my last job, but I’m starting next week in another company. What about you? Let me guess, model?”

When Regina visibly blushed at the compliment Emma realized how it had sounded. She hadn’t meant to say it like that; she genuinely though Regina could be a model.

“I’m flattered but no,” she laughed softly. “Some people would say I play with people’s minds.”

“Oh, mysterious,” Emma sang. “Like a mentalist? Because that I wouldn’t have expected it.”

Regina shook her head and her hair shone under the artificial light of the kitchen. “It’s not it, but I bet Henry would love that.”

Like if he had heard his cue, he called for them from the sofa. “Mom! Emma! Look at this, I got to put Tiara on the boat!”

“Oh my god,” Regina cringed. “It’s going to be hard to get that dinosaur out of there. I have to see how he managed to insert a big toy inside that tiny boat.”

Emma laughed as she dried her hands with the cloth Regina had handed her, the washing finished, and both of them walked over to the sofa. The brunette took a seat next to Henry and Emma stood in front of them awkwardly. Regina glanced up and moved her head, indicating Emma to sit next to Henry, so she did and he started to explain a history he had made up about Tiara the dinosaur while they listened to him.

After a while, he yawned and Emma saw Regina shot a glance at the clock and rose to her feet. “It’s time to go to bed, mister.”

Henry opened his mouth to protest but another yawn ate his words, so he nodded, accepting she was right. It was barely after 9, but Emma figured that would be a bed time for a 5 years old kid who has been running around all day. When he jumped from the sofa, his hand slipped in Regina’s and she looked over her shoulder to Emma.

“Will you wait here? It will just be a second.” Emma nodded and smiled. Regina looked down at Henry, “Say goodbye to Emma, Henry.”

He turned and waved with his free hand. “Bye ‘Ma,” he mumbled.

Emma wished him goodnight and watched them disappear behind the door she supposed would lead to his room. She looked around and saw all the toys spread on the living room. Henry had a lot of them for an only kid, but he didn’t seem like a spoilt one. Emma could tell Regina loved him a lot, but also had raised him well, and it was something to admire.

Not even 5 minutes had passed when Regina came back. “He dozed off the minute he touched the bed,” she explained with a sweet smile Emma had quickly learned it was reserved for Henry only.

“Can’t blame him,” Emma chuckled in agreement. Regina started to pick up the toys and immediately Emma stood up to help her. “He has a lot of toys. Does he play with all of them?”

Regina, whose hands were full, walked to a corner of the room where a small suitcase sat and put the toys inside. “He actually does. Since he watched Toy Story he makes sure to play with all of them so they don’t feel bad,” she rolled her eyes.

“He is a sweet kid,” Emma complimented, smiling at his innocence.

“He is,” Regina agreed while she left the last toys on the suitcase. She clasped her hands together, “And that was the last. Thanks for helping.”

Emma waved her hand to downplay it. Now, with nothing to do, Emma shifted her weight from leg to leg, not really knowing what to do. She cleared her throat, “So uhm, I better get going and leave you to rest.”

Regina laughed, unexpectedly. “It’s only 9, but yes.” She walked to the door, Emma following her. She opened the door and waited until the blonde was out.

“Well, thanks for the dinner. It was amazing,” Emma smiled from the other side of the door.

Regina leaned on it and nodded thankful. “Will you be able to find your room?” she asked when Emma glanced around.

Emma nodded and released a breath, “I hope so.” They laughed and when they fell silent again, Emma raised her gaze and met Regina’s. “I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess?”

“Of course,” Regina promised. “Make sure to bring the ball or you will suffer Henry’s rage.”

“Someone so little with rage? I hardly believe it!”

“Just wait and see,” she joked. “Goodnight, Emma.”

“Goodnight Regina.” Emma dipped her head with a smile and turned to go. The sound of the door closing behind her took longer to come than she had expected. She found her room quickly, since they weren’t far away from each other, and when she dropped on the sofa, Emma sighed.

What a night. When she booked her vacations, she hadn’t even imagined it would go like this. In the solitude of the night, Emma allowed herself to think freely about Regina. She certainly didn’t believe in love at first sight but she had to admit Regina had something that made her heart flutter, and it wasn’t only her body. Shaking her head to clear her mind, Emma reached for the remote and turned on the TV, going through all the channels until she found some random reality she watched until deep in the night. When she woke up, there was a movie on she didn’t recognise and it was very late, so she turned it off and headed towards her bed, falling asleep as she laid down.


	3. Chapter 3

It was hunger what woke her up. Emma felt her stomach claiming for attention before she could fully make sense of where she was. She took her sweet time to stretch on the bed, slowly waking up, and stared at the ceiling. It took her a moment to remember she wasn't on her apartment at the city and another to remember the night before. With a dopey smile, she got up as she brushed the sleep away from her eyes and walked to the kitchen.

Unfortunately, she had forgotten she still hadn't bought anything to eat, not even milk and cereal, so when she opened the fridge her stomach roared like if it was complaining. That's why 10 minutes later she was on shorts and a tank top heading towards the supermarket.

Emma was looking at the cereals when she noticed a box that announced some dinosaur shaped ones, and she couldn't help but think about Henry. She threw the box in her cart with a smile, hoping to tell Henry about them later.

When she was back at her room, she unloaded the groceries and finally took a moment to look at the hour. She knew she could sleep like a log, but this time she was surprised to find out it was way past noon already. She had missed a whole morning in the pool and sighed. Skipping breakfast, she heated a quick pre made meal and had lunch calmly.

It was already afternoon when she finally appeared in the pool. She scanned the place and quickly found Regina and Henry, both beneath an umbrella. Maybe she hadn't started the day well, but universe was definitely making up for it when she saw there was a free hammock next to them. She walked over the family and laid her towel there.

Regina raised her gaze from the book she was reading, but her eyes were covered again and Emma couldn't see the look that would match her arched eyebrow and side smile. Henry on his hand, looked up at her and grinned openly.

"Emma!" he greeted her.

She returned the smile at him as she laid on the hammock. Hers wasn't beneath the umbrella, so the sun was directly on her skin. "Hey Henry." She turned to Regina, her smile didn't falter. "Regina."

The brunette dipped her head as a salute and her glasses fell down a little. Henry knelt on his hammock, leaning forward. "Where were you?" he asked bluntly, earning a look from Regina.

"Henry, don't be nosy."

"It's okay," Emma laughed. "I actually slept in and didn't realise the hour." As she explained, she noticed a change in Regina's posture, like if she was more relaxed. Emma mentally noted that, wondering what that would mean.

"I wake up early like the big kids," he said proudly. Emma tilted her head at Regina, behind him, quietly asking her about that and the other woman shook her head as if to ask her not to say anything.

Emma understood and shrugged, "Guess I'm not a good kid."

"You're an adult, Emma!" Henry giggled, like if he was explaining that to a baby. "Mom says I can't go into the pool yet because I just had lunch," he pouted, hoping Emma could free him and give him free pass to go swimming.

"Well you should listen to her," Emma agreed with a nod. Henry's shoulders slouched and sat back down, crossing his arms. Above his head, Regina smiled and mouthed a thank you, to which Emma answered with another smile.

They fell silent, each one of them minding their own business with the background sound of people splashing on the pool. Regina came back to her book, Henry to his toys and Emma laid back and closed her eyes to enjoy the sun. After a moment, she started to feel too warm and realized she had forgotten to buy some sunscreen. Sitting up, she pulled her hair up in a ponytail and sighed.

"Mom," she heard Henry whispering. "Emma is a tomato."

Emma raised her head in time to see Regina looking at her. "See Henry? That's why I always tell you to put sunscreen on," she said, her eyes still on Emma and her lips curving in a mocking smile.

Henry moved towards Emma and looked at her seriously. "Emma, did you put sunscreen?"

"I actually didn't. I forgot to buy one," she said scratching the back of her head out of embarrassment. If her cheeks were already red, they were redder now.

Henry turned quickly and when he came back he was holding a green bottle of sunscreen with drawings all over it. Probably a kid's bottle. "You can borrow mine," he beamed.

Emma concealed a smile, melting inside at how good he was. But before she could answer, Regina closed the book and looked at her over Henry's head. "Actually I think it would be better if you stayed under the umbrella for a while. Your skin is too pale."

Looking around, Emma looked for a free umbrella, but all of them were already being used. Suddenly Henry jumped in his hammock and looked at his mother. "It's been an hour! Can I go into the pool now? Please?"

Regina checked the little colorful watch Henry was handing her and nodded. "Okay, but be careful."

Henry threw his fists in the air and ran to the pool, sitting on the edge before walking in slowly. Emma saw Regina picking up his towel and toys, putting them at her feet. "You can take Henry's hammock. He probably won't come out of the water until is time to leave."

"Oh, uhm…thanks," Emma smiled. She slid off her own and into Henry's. Her skin instantly thanked her and she released a satisfied sigh.

"Better now?" Regina asked, opening her book again.

Emma glanced at her and noticed she had taken off the sunglasses. She was so deep into getting lost in her features she was silent for a moment. It wasn't until Regina turned her head Emma realized she was waiting for an answer, so she nodded. "Yeah, much better."

Regina nodded and glanced away, coming back to her book, so Emma relaxed on her hammock. Or at least tried; it was hard with Regina sitting right next to her like if she was waiting to be portrayed in a painting. Her gaze kept drifting towards the brunette and she swallowed.

"I think I'm going to go into the pool for a while," she asked sitting up. "You coming?"

Regina raised her gaze and Emma could feel her eyes scanning her through the glasses. "Maybe later."

Not trusting her voice to speak out lout, Emma shook her head in what she meant to be a nod, but ended up like an awkward tilt of head. She turned and went right into the pool, dying to dive in and hide the blush on her face. She swam a little, working on her arms since she hadn't done her exercises the previous day, until she found Henry playing alone again. Dipping into the water, she swam close to him and emerged right at his side, scaring him.

He screamed and jumped, but as soon as he saw it was her, he frowned. "Emma! You scared me!"

He splashed some water and she covered, smiling. When she turned she saw Regina looking at them, probably startled by Henry's scream. Emma raised her hand and put her thumbs up to let her know it was okay, and from afar Regina nodded.

"That was the point kid," she laughed. He slipped and almost fell into a deeper place of the pool, and Emma reached for him. "Careful there. Do you know how to swim?"

Henry blushed and dipped his head, shaking it softly. "I'm still learning but it's too hard. That's why mom won't let me go too far."

"But big kids can swim."

Henry's eyebrows curved as he sighed, "I know. It's the only thing I can't do. Mom says my teacher is not good at teaching and that's why I can't do it."

"Really?" Emma raised an eyebrow and shot a glance at Regina before coming back to Henry, who nodded. "Well, perhaps I could help you a little with it? I once worked as a lifeguard. If your mother is okay with that."

"Yes!" Henry didn't even wait to hear another word to run off as much as he could into the water towards his mother. Emma could hear him telling her the idea and approached them.

Regina looked at her once she arrived. "You worked as a lifeguard?"

"Yeah, I had to pay my bills somehow," she shrugged. Regina seemed to consider it for a second, seizing her and most likely considering her ability to do it.

"Well, if Henry is okay with it…"

"Yes!" he chided. He couldn't wait to finally be able to swim without drowning, going into the grown ups pool. He looked at Emma raising his eyebrows, like waiting for her to begin, and she laughed nervously.

"Maybe we can start tomorrow morning? I promise not to sleep in this time."

"Why not now?" he whined, but his mother was quick to reprimand.

"Henry, if she says tomorrow, it's tomorrow."

He nodded resigned and Emma sighed relieved. The truth was that she was wearing a bikini that wasn't her size and with every movement her top would shift, so starting a swimming lesson with a kid wasn't the brightest idea in that moment. She got out of the pool, after promising Henry she would be back later to play with the ball, and dropped on her hammock.

"How's the water?" Regina asked all of the sudden.

"It's pretty good actually. Refreshing. Why don't you do for a dive?"

Closing the book and leaving it to a side, Regina sat up. "Actually I would like to enjoy the sun for a bit." She rose to her feet and changed her towel to the hammock on the other side of Emma's, where the blonde had sat before. She offered Emma the sunscreen and laid face down. "Would you mind to put some sunscreen on my back? Henry always does it terribly."

Emma froze for a moment, holding the bottle of cream and staring down. Regina was lying there waiting for  _her_  to spread cream on her back. She glanced down and her breath became shallower at the sight of Regina's body glistening under the sun. Her skin was so perfectly tanned it almost made Emma jealous; that woman seemed to do everything flawlessly, even tanning.

Regina cleared her throat and glanced up, arching an eyebrow and Emma snapped back into the moment. "Right, of course."

The bottle emitted a pop when the she opened the lid and pressed so the cream landed on Regina's back. It wasn't like Henry's childish sunscreen, a spry made for kids who can't stay still for two minutes, but looked like it was expensive and soft. Emma closed the lid and set it aside before brushing her hands on her towel, trying to dry the sweat.

The moment her hands touched the skin, Regina's back trembled slightly, like a reflex out of being startled by the sudden touch. Emma bit her lip as she spread the cream carefully, massaging her shoulders. She swallowed hard when Regina moaned softly at it. Emma made sure all her back was covered, not wanting to be the one to ruin her tan, lifting her bikini strips and spreading the cream there.

When she finished, Emma finally let out the air she had been holding, especially when it had came to dealing with the lower part and sides of Regina's back. "Okay, all done."

"Thank you," Regina smiled before settling back down.

Emma blinked; had Regina just battled her eyelashes at her? Maybe she was imagining things. When she laid back, she closed her eyes and mentally counted to ten, trying to chill. It was hard though, when all she could think was the body of the woman lying right next to her.

* * *

She couldn'r remember when she had dozed off, but Emma felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently and someone saying her name, waking her up.

"Emma?"

She stirred in her sleep and frowned. "Hmm?" It took her a moment to open her eyes, but when she did she saw Regina looking at her from her hammock.

"I'm sorry to wake you up, but Henry wants to play with the ball and I thought I should ask first," she explained.

Emma, more awake now, blinked a few times and sat up. "Yeah, sure. You don't need to ask."

"Thanks," Regina smiled. "I'm going to get into the pool for a while. Are you coming?"

That was the last thing she needed to wake up and Emma nodded, sliding off her hammock. She jumped into the pool first, since it seemed Regina needed her time, and emerged in time to see the other woman perform a clean jump. When Regina got out of the pool, Henry was already crawling on her.

"Moooom!" he exclaimed, clinging to her neck. Regina smiled at him and Emma noticed she had left her sunglasses at the edge of the pool. It was getting late, the last hour of light and the sun was hidden behind the buildings surrounding them, so it would seem only obvious to her.

Emma reached for the ball and they started a simple game of passing the ball while Regina watched, laughing when they missed. Henry even passed the ball to her some times to make her feel included, which Emma thought was a sweet detail. One of the times Henry threw the ball, he did it so high Emma had to take a few steps back and when she jumped to reach for it, she turned and heard two voices yelling her name before her head hit the tile at the edge of the pool.

Her head got dizzy and before she could realise, she had two pairs of hands checking if she was okay. Emma looked up and found Regina and Henry hovering over her.

"Ew mom there's blood," Henry cringed, making a face. Emma immediately lifted her hand to touch where she felt a strong pang of pain, but Regina slapped it away.

"We have to clean it to see if it's deep," she explained as she eyed it carefully. Emma could feel her fingers pressing on her head and found it strangely calming. "Can you come out of the water?"

"Yeah, sure," Emma asked already moving, but she swayed and Regina reached for her arm to hold her up. "I'm fine," she still tried, but accepted the help to get out of the pool.

Once out, Regina guided her to sit on the hammock with Henry following them, watching them with a furrow crossing his face. "Can you walk?" Regina asked. "I have a first aid kid in my room and we need to get some ice and a stream of water."

Emma nodded and stood up, but the whole motion made her stagger and her stomach turned. "It seems not," Regina sighed. She looked around but it was late in the afternoon and the lifeguard had already left, so she had no help.

"My room is nearer than yours. I think I can walk there," Emma drawled. Regina studied the idea, looking at her, before turning to Henry.

"Henry, help me pick up our things. I'll help her walk." He nodded and maintained a serious expression that would have surprised Emma is she wasn't trying to handle the pain in her head.

Regina offered Emma a hand and she took it, using as a support to stand up. This time she didn't stagger but she wasn't going to say anything now that Regina was holding her by her waist to keep her up. The other woman was so close she could smell the chlorine and sunscreen on her, along with a faint bittersweet scent. She would thank all the forces in the universe for being awake enough to not lean on her shoulder like she wished to do. They arrived to the room faster than she thought possible and Henry handed them the card he found in Emma's belongings.

Regina helped her on a stool. "Stay here, the sofa is too comfy and it's better if you don't fall asleep until we're sure about this injury." She turned to Henry and knelt at his eye level. "Make sure she stays awake, okay? Talk to her until I get back. It will only be a minute."

"Okay," he nodded again.

After kissing him on his forehead with a murmured thank you, she rose to her feet and looked at Emma. "Stay awake."

"I know, I heard," Emma said rolling her eyes, but it made her head hurt and grimaced.

Regina left the room and Emma stayed with Henry, who was telling her stories about what he had learned that year in school and bugs he had found on the playground. It was starting to make Emma feeling worse on her stomach when Regina came back, carrying a little white suitcase with a red cross in the middle. She thanked Henry again and told him he could go play or watch TV before stopping next to the blonde.

She opened the suitcase on the counter next to them and pulled out some gauze to wet it on the water stream. She came back and put her fingers on Emma's chin to lift her head. "Try not to move."

Emma wondered how she could move when she was holding her face like that and just stared back up with wide eyes, admiring Regina's features up close when she leaned a little for a better sight. She understood though when the gauze touched her head and she shuffled away.

"Ouch!"

"I said don't move, Emma," Regina scolded, this time holding her face with more force.

"Easy to say," Emma complained, cringing when Regina pressed on the injury again. "It stings."

Regina rolled her eyes softly as she finished cleaning the majority of her head off blood. She looked more closely, not letting go of the blonde's face and Emma held her breath at their closeness.

"Are you a doctor?" she asked, still looking up in awe at Regina, who shook her head.

"No, but I have a son." She squinted her eyes and Emma felt her finger trace a line on her forehead. "It doesn't look deep, but I recommend some ice and rest. You should go to the hospital if you feel any signs of concussion though."

"You're smart," Emma breathed before she could stop herself. Regina glanced down at her, their gazes meeting halfway, and the blonde notice the light red on her cheeks.

"Thank you," she muttered letting go and leaning back. She grabbed a cloth and walked to the freezer, where she found some pieces of ice next to a bag of frozen fries. She wrapped them up with the cloth and came back to Emma, pressing it to her forehead and eliciting a hiss from her. "Hold it there for a while."

"Yeah, boss."

Regina quirked up an eyebrow and let out half a smile before turning to her son, who was watching the TV. "Henry, let's go."

"Already?" Emma asked. Then, she shut her mouth, quietly promising to herself to not talk anymore until her head didn't hurt. However now it was too late and both Henry and Regina were looking at her. "I mean, you kinda saved me. I don't have much food for a dinner to thank you, but there are ingredients for a fine sandwich?"

"You can't cook in your condition," Regina reminded her. "You need to rest."

"Well, if you hand me the ingredients, I can make it while I sit and rest here."

Regina bit her lower lip and Emma stared at her mouth, following the motion. "Okay, I suppose," she conceded. "Henry, come here to choose what you want on your sandwich."

He trotted over to the kitchen and made his choice. Then Regina picked up some things for her and, after asking Emma what she wanted, she came back to the counter and left the packages. All three of them made their sandwiches, working together and passing each other the ingredients.

After they finished, they moved to the sofa—after a while of whining from Emma because Regina didn't think it was a good idea—and watched some food TV show that was on. Emma felt much better and left the cloth with the ice, earning an eyebrow arched from Regina, but she didn't say anything.

When Henry fell asleep, Regina whispered to Emma, "I think we should go. Will you be okay?"

"Of course," Emma assured. Her headache was way better and she almost couldn't feel any pain anymore. "It was just a stupid knock."

She stood up to prove she could stay on her feet without wagering and Regina stood up too, leaning down to pick up Henry in her arms, surprising Emma with her strength. He mumbled in his sleep and leaned his head on her shoulder.

"If you need anything, call the reception, or the emergencies," Regina advised as they made their way to the door.

Emma nodded, "I will, don't worry. The ice was enough." She opened the door and let Regina out, who stopped at her doorstep. "Are you sure you can carry him all the way to your room?"

"It's not the first time I have to carry him to bed. I'm used to it," Regina downplayed, but readjusted Henry on her hip. "Remember; if you feel any signs of dizziness or anything that doesn't sit well, get some help."

"Yes, ma'am," Emma smiled, earning a glare from Regina. "Thank you, by the way."

"We're making a habit of it," Regina commented. Emma tilted her head in confusion and she clarified, "The thank you dinners are becoming usual."

Emma laughed and nodded, "Yeah. Maybe we could try a normal dinner, with nothing to thank anyone about." She realized how it had sounded the second she shut her mouth and her eyes opened a little more, gazing at Regina.

The brunette let out a small smile and hung her head, "Perhaps we should."

Suddenly Emma's heartbeat was racing and her stomach fluttered for entirely different reasons this time. She opened her mouth but no sound came, so Regina's smile stretched and dipped her head.

"I should put him to bed. Good night, Emma."

"Good night, Regina."

She watched mother and son part towards their room and only closed the door when they turned on a corner. She stared at the door and breathed. "What the hell was that?" she told to herself in the solitude of her room.

Maybe she was imagining it? Maybe it was the hit? She shook her head softly and turned off the TV to go right to bed although it wasn't even 11. In the end, Regina was right; she was in need of rest.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really happy about this chapter but we need some progress. Let me know what you think and there will be another chapter soon!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really happy about this chapter but we need some progress. Let me know what you think and there will be another chapter soon!

When Emma woke up the next day, the headache was gone, but when she checked her forehead in the mirror she saw there was still a mark as a reminder of the hit. It was still early, so she took her time to have breakfast and take a shower before putting on her swimsuit and head towards the pool. She liked that; her only worry those days was which swimwear she should wear.

She arrived at the pool and noticed there was plenty space for her to choose where she wanted to sit. There was no sign of Henry and Regina yet, but she chose a hammock in front of the pool, where they used to be. Emma laid down and closed her eyes; the sun wasn't high in the sky, so she still had a while until her skin yelled at her for not putting sunscreen on.

It felt like only five minutes had passed when she heard a voice she could recognise by now. Henry was telling her mother that chocolate cake was the best of all cakes, and when they arrived next to Emma, they put down the towels next to hers naturally.

"What about a three chocolate cake?" she asked.

Henry turned and opened his eyes wide. "There's a three chocolate cake?" he asked in awe. Emma smiled at the interaction and wondered if it was like that all the times with them, discussing about which cake was the best and Tiara the dinosaur.

Regina nodded and pointed at him with a finger, moving it to tell him to stand in front of her so she could put some sunscreen on him. "Maybe we could try it this year? If you're good."

"I will," he promised with a very serious nod. Regina smiled sweetly at him and then looked over at Emma.

"How's your head?"

"Good, thanks to you," she said sitting up on the hammock. "It will leave a mark though."

"Well, you can be the girl who lived," Regina joked with a soft smirk dancing in her lips. Emma raised an eyebrow but Henry chimed in, jumping next to her.

"Are you going to teach me how to swim today?" he asked, the excitement vivid in his voice.

Emma looked up at Regina to check it was okay, and after getting a soft smile, she glanced down at him and nodded, "Well, sure, if you're ready."

He put his hands on his waist and smiled widely, "Of course I am." He took off, getting into the pool in one dive. Emma's eyes drifted towards Regina, who was now taking off her dress and she swallowed, trying not to drool.

"Are you coming?" she asked instead.

Regina laid down and shook her head. "The sun is bothering my eyes and my sunglasses broke, so I'll just watch you from under the umbrella."

Emma's eyebrows shot up as she rose to her feet. "They broke? How?"

"Remember when you almost faint in the pool? Well, the ball fell right into the glasses, breaking them on the middle," she explained.

The blonde frowned. "Uh, sorry for that."

Regina looked up and smiled, "Don't worry. After all you really tried to catch the ball." She popped open the bottle of sunscreen and her attention focused on the cream, so Emma took it as a cue to leave. She was still frowning when she got into the pool.

Henry quickly approached and asked her what he should do, so Emma shook her head and started to instruct him. He had the bases of the movement, but he was still afraid of drowning, so Emma worked on that, holding him and letting him go slowly until he got confident enough. When he managed to get from the edge of the pool to Emma without any help, she felt proud.

"There you have it! You just swam by yourself. It wasn't that hard, was it?" she asked when he landed on her arms, still a little afraid of drowning.

His cheeks were red from the effort, but his smile swallowed almost all his face. "I did it! Mom will love it. It can be my birthday present for her."

"Birthday present?" Emma wondered, looking down at him.

He nodded, looking down at his hands as he tried to swim a little more. "She has one more year tomorrow and we're having a three chocolate cake."

He jumped and swam towards the pool's edge while Emma got lost in thought. When he arrived, he turned and cheered so she came back to the moment and nodded with a smile. "I'm going to take a few steps back so you can swim a little more, but I'm going to be right here okay? Don't be afraid."

They resumed the swimming class, but Emma couldn't stop glancing at Regina by the corner of her eye.

* * *

By the afternoon, Henry could already hold himself by his own in the pool for a little while, so they took a break to have lunch when Regina called for him in the pool. She invited Emma to have lunch with them, because she was alone and well, they had too much food for the two of them alone—or so Regina said—but Emma politely refused. However, she suggested having dinner together that night since she was free. There was an odd look on Regina when she nodded but Emma didn't have time to study it when they turned and left the pool.

It wasn't that Emma didn't want to spend time with them, but she had decided to go out and buy something for Regina's birthday. It was a stupid idea since they had met a few days ago, but she thought it would be a nice detail in exchange for letting her in those days.

She changed in her room and left the resort, going shopping next to the bay. She barely knew Regina but she knew she liked 3 things: her son, her books and her sunglasses. Out of the three of those choices, she took advantage of the ball accident and eyed some sunglasses, trying them on and imagining how they would look on Regina. It was hard though, because to Emma's eyes, anything would look amazing on the brunette.

In the end, she found a pair she thought were the best out of all the choices and bought them. Then she took a walk, enjoying the nice weather and got two hot dogs for herself, listening to her rumbling stomach. By the time she arrived at the resort, she felt fulfilled with her purchase. Emma took her time, relaxing in her room for a while before returning to the pool.

Regina and Henry were already there. He was playing on his hammock and talking to his mother, who was enjoying the sun with her eyes closed. Emma approached them and took her place next to Henry, under the umbrella, and she was glad she wasn't under the sun because although she had put on some cream she could still feel it burning her skin.

It was a quiet evening. Emma played with Henry for a while, but when he went to the pool, she stayed and enjoyed the calm. She liked the kid a lot, but he was like a little ball of energy that never stopped and she had to admit she couldn't keep up with his rhythm.

They parted to their own rooms to get ready and this time Emma didn't stall and when she was ready she knocked on Regina's room. Henry opened the door again, still wearing his swimsuit as she suspected, and she smiled down. Regina appeared behind him and told him to go get a shower, like the first day Emma had been there, but this time she felt more confident.

Once they were alone, Regina led Emma to the kitchen. "Henry confessed he told you about my birthday tomorrow and I thought maybe we could make the cake today, if you don't mind."

Emma was taken aback by the offer and couldn't help but glance down at Regina's attire. She was wearing a dress and Emma could tell it wasn't cheap, so she was surprised by the idea of cooking with chocolate with a kid wearing that. But when her gaze met Regina's and saw she was waiting for an answer, Emma nodded.

"Sure. It could be fun." Regina smiled relieved and turned to pull out all the plates they needed. Emma looked around and asked, "Isn't anyone coming tomorrow for the celebration?"

Regina stopped and tilted her head, although her back was to Emma. "It's not much of a celebration. It's only a cake and some candles," she shrugged.

It sounded distant and Emma wondered if no one would come because she didn't want them to or because she didn't have anyone. Instead of asking, Emma stood next to her and helped her, smiling when Regina looked at her.

Henry appeared shortly after and they started to make the cake. Regina put on an apron and handed Emma another one. Henry just stayed on his pyjama as he cut the chocolate bar into tiny pieces. They worked together and Regina put some melted chocolate on Henry's nose, which made him giggle and reach upwards to stain her face too. He ended up splashing Emma on her cheek and they all laughed.

It didn't take long for the cake to be ready and, while they left it on the fridge to cook, they had a light dinner before they put on a movie Henry had chosen. He sat on the floor, looking up at the TV while he absently played with his toys, and the adults sat on the couch.

Suddenly Emma was too aware of her body and its sensations, and she could feel where her leg touched Regina's and their shoulders leaned on each other. It was a cartoon movie Emma had seen on the cinema once, when Ruby had insisted on going to watch it, but she still enjoyed as much as Henry did. Regina however, fell asleep some time between the middle and the end of the movie. Emma could feel the other woman's head falling slowly until she leaned on the blonde's shoulder, and Emma sat rigid the whole movie, not wanting to wake her up.

When the movie was over, Henry raised his hands, "Let's watch it again!"

Emma glanced down at Regina, who stirred from her slumber with Henry's voice, and smiled. "I think someone here prefers to go to sleep."

Regina moaned into Emma's ear and she could feel the goose bumps on her neck it provoked. The other woman sat up and blinked, realising she had fallen asleep on top of Emma and smiled apologetically. Then she looked at Henry and tilted her head. "It's past your bed time, sir. You can watch it again tomorrow."

It surprised Emma she had heard him while she slept, and she considered that perhaps she wasn't really sleeping. The idea of Regina leaning on her shoulder while she was conscious stuck in her brain and she felt the butterflies in her stomach. She watched Henry pout but he obeyed his mother and waved at Emma before going to his bedroom. Regina stood up and she stretched while Emma watched the show from behind, noticing how the dress rose a little. She averted her eyes and cleared her throat.

"You should get some rest. I know it wasn't the most interesting movie, but it wasn't that boring to fall asleep on it," she quipped as she rose to her feet.

Regina smiled lazily and Emma was taken aback for a second by it, feeling warmth on her chest. "Henry woke up early today and he jumped in my bed to remind me tomorrow is the big day."

"Does he ever run out of energy?" Emma laughed and Regina joined her, shaking her head.

"I'm starting to think he doesn't." She turned off the TV and they walked to the door without realising. Regina opened the door and Emma got out, stopping at the front as they used to and turning. "I hope today's plans weren't too tedious for you."

Emma rolled her eyes, "Of course not. It was fun, you guys are fun."

Their eyes met and a smile appeared on both faces as Regina leaned on the door. "You're fun too. Henry likes you a lot and he doesn't like a lot of people, so you must be the chosen one."

"It's only an honour." Emma bowed exaggeratedly, making Regina laugh, and that widened the smile on the blonde's face. "How long are you staying here?" she asked all of the sudden.

Regina's laugh faded and she broke the eye contact for a second. "We're leaving the day after tomorrow. And you?"

"Oh, I thought you were staying longer," Emma said before she could stop herself. "I'm staying for a couple days more."

"Well, you can finally have the vacations you came for."

Emma smiled politely, but kept quiet to not to reveal her thoughts. She nodded and said good bye, turning to leave. She had come to have a relaxing vacation on her own to enjoy some time away from people, but she had found something way better and she had to admit she could miss it once they were gone.


	5. Chapter 5

Emma used to asleep well. In fact, she slept like a log, but that night all she could do was to toss and turn. She could blame it on the heat, but she knew it was because she couldn't stop thinking about Regina and the fact she only had two more days left with her. She found it stupid to think that way when they had met a few days ago, but she had felt an instant connection with the brunette and wished they had more time in paradise, with no responsibilities to care about, their only worry being putting sunscreen from time to time.

She had barely slept that night when the sun came out and it sneaked through her curtains. Emma stretched on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a while, contemplating if love at first sight would really exist or if it was just a crush. In the end she decided to stop giving it much thought. That night would be the last night with them and she would let things flow.

That day was a quiet day on the pool. This time when Emma arrived they were already there, Henry swimming in front of Regina, who was sitting on the hammock. Emma guessed he was showing her what he had learned, and she could confirm it when she approached them and saw Regina's proud smile.

"Hey," she said once she sat on the hammock next to them. "Happy birthday, Regina."

The brunette smiled, "Thank you Emma." She pointed at Henry, who was still showing her his new acquired ability. "He won't stop swimming. I'm afraid you turned him into a mermaid."

Emma laughed and sat next to her to watch him. Regina leaned back on her hands and sighed. "I think it helped him the fact that there isn't many people around. When he goes to swimming classes he's too embarrassed to even pay attention."

"I feel him," Emma agreed. "I came here this week because there aren't many people on vacation now. Everyone goes in the summer and it's kind of oppressive. It's much better on September when people is coming back to school and their jobs."

"I agree," Regina nodded. "That's why I come here every year on the same week."

Emma turned her head to look at her. "You come here every year? But you look like you could afford a 5 stars hotel or something," she blurted out without thinking about it.

Regina however didn't take it as a bad thing and smiled at her before looking at her son. "Henry loves it here, so why change? I love to cook so it's fine."

Emma stared at her and couldn't help but to smile. She could tell how important Henry was to Regina and she loved how she showed that. She had never had a real family, always jumping from foster home to another without anyone putting up with her for more than a year, so she found it amazing to see the love of a mother for her son so close.

This time Emma accepted the lunch offer and they had lunch on Regina's room before returning to the pool; although they still had the next day to enjoy it, Henry wanted to be there as much as he could before he left. Emma tried not to think about the fact that the next day they would leave, and decided to think like Henry and enjoyed the evening as much as she could, playing with him and with Regina when she decided to join them in the late hours of the day.

When it was time to leave, Regina asked Emma if she wanted her to join them for dinner, since they would have the cake they had made the night before, but Emma shook her head.

"Actually, why don't you come over to my room? The terrace is bigger and Henry can play on the grass." Regina raised an eyebrow, hesitating about it. "I'll make dinner. I promise it won't be a pre-cooked pizza," she assured when she saw the question in the other woman's eyes.

Henry looked up at her mother, waiting for her to answer. She looked down and asked him, "Do you want to go?" He nodded excitedly, already thinking about the story he could make up playing with Tiara on the grass, and Regina's gaze met Emma's. "Well, if you don't mind us going there."

"Of course not. I've been going to your room all the time. It's time for you to come to mine for another reason that is not me hitting my head," she laughed.

Regina smiled and nodded, "Okay then. We'll be there in an hour?"

"Awesome."

Emma smiled too and waved them goodbye before rushing to her room. She already had something planned for that night, so she was quick to prepare everything on her room. She had managed to sneak out during the evening to buy some balloons and more birthday stuff so, after taking a quick shower and putting on her best clothes, she started to put everything on place. When she was done, she placed her hands on her waist and checked her work. Balloons hung from the walls and there was a banner that prayed 'happy birthday!' above the counter. She grinned, delighted with the result, just when the bell rang.

She opened the door and found Regina and Henry on the other side. She was carrying the bottle of Chardonnay and Henry had the plate with the cake. Emma could tell Regina had brushed his hair to a side and picked his clothes, because he looked like a little gentleman. His mother was stunning as far Emma could see.

"I hope we aren't late. Henry had some trouble with the shower," Regina said while Henry's face became red.

Emma shook her head and invited them in. They came to a halt when they saw the room and the blonde stopped in front of them once she closed the door. "Uhm, happy birthday. I thought it would be fun to have some balloons and stuff," she smiled timidly, hitting one of the balloons near her.

Regina opened her mouth but closed it again without finding the words, so Henry took a step ahead and lifted the cake. "Awesome!"

Emma grabbed the plate before he threw the cake away and motioned them to go further into the room. She left the cake on the fridge and Regina went with her, "You didn't have to, Emma."

"I know, but I thought why not?" she shrugged. "It can be a celebration, you know."

Regina stared at her for a moment and their eyes met. Emma could tell she wasn't expecting that and she was trying to find the words, so she just smiled encouragingly. Finally, Regina realised she was still carrying the bottle of wine and handed it to Emma.

"It doesn't match with the cake, but it was the only one I had."

Emma put it on the fridge too and shrugged. "It's only wine, who cares?" She glanced over at Henry and then back to Regina, who was still standing on the kitchen looking a little stunned. "C'mon, let's have dinner."

* * *

"You have to make a wish!" Henry exclaimed, squirming in his seat next to Regina. The cake was in front of her with a single candle she had brought while Emma was in front of them, recording the moment for them.

"Wait, let me think," she paused. When she seemed to know what she would wish for, she nodded and looked at Emma, who smiled and put her thumb up to let her know she was recording.

Henry started to sing happy birthday and Emma joined while she watched how Regina's cheeks dyed a bright shade of red. When they finished, she leaned forward and blew but Henry did too so the candle was off before Emma could even blink. They applauded and Regina shook her head, but a wide smile was adorning her face.

"Okay, okay, let's eat now." She grabbed the knife and put the pieces of cake in small plates Emma had given her. Turns out they weren't too bad of a cook, because when they tried it, all three of them hummed with satisfaction.

"This totally wins the chocolate cake," Henry said with the food still in his mouth. Regina would have scolded him for that if she wasn't laughing at Emma, who had chocolate all over her chin.

With the dinner and the cake, they were full so Emma put the rests of the cake back in the fridge and took that moment to get her gift. When she came back, Henry was holding his dinosaur towards her.

"Tiara's gift is a card. She wrote it herself," he grinned. Emma sat next to her and he leaned forward to whisper a little too loud, "Actually I wrote it. She's a toy."

Regina read the card and her eyes started to glimmer. However she blinked the tears away and, when she finished, she left the card on the table and hugged him. "Thank you Henry." She kissed his temple and then tapped Tiara's head, "And thank you Tiara."

Henry giggled on his seat and Emma slid a bag towards Regina. "I have something for you too. I know it can't beat Tiara's card, but I can try." Regina eyed her curiously, obviously surprised by the gift, and opened her mouth but Emma knew it was to tell her she didn't have to, so she shook her head. "Just open it."

Regina pulled out the package from the bag and carefully unwrapped it to find a pair of sunglasses. Her eyebrows shot up when she saw them and raised her gaze to look at Emma. The blonde just shrugged.

"Yours broke so I thought maybe you needed a new pair? You can change them for another pair if you don't like them," she was quick to add. "I've got the ticket and you just have to go—"

"I like them," Regina cut her off. "Thank you Emma." She leaned and pressed her lips to her cheek.

Emma could see her trying the glasses on, talking to Henry and asking him if they looked good, but all Emma could focus on was on the spot where Regina had kissed her. Regina had actually  _kissed_  her. She couldn't hear anything but the rush of blood in her ears and she knew she was flushing wildly when she felt the warmth on her cheek.

After a moment, she realised both of them were looking at her and she hadn't heard what they had said. "What?" she asked.

"Henry asked if you wanted to watch a movie," Regina explained with a funny smile.

Emma didn't know if Regina was aware of what had happened, but she just nodded and stood up. "Sure. I'll go doing the dishes while you choose."

Regina stood up too, "I'll help you."

"Nope." Emma shook her head, stopping her. "It's your birthday and it's just a few plates anyways. I'll be done in five minutes so you better have that movie ready."

Henry rushed to the sofa to get the remote and Regina quirked an eyebrow at her, but didn't say a word as she headed to the living room to join her son. Emma was quick to do the dishes, as she had promised; she had done the task automatically while her mind replayed over and over again the kiss.

When she joined them, Henry had taken his place on the floor again, so Emma sat next to Regina and he pressed play. "Are you going to fall asleep again?" she whispered, earning a glare from Regina. "Just asking in case you want me to lean down," she joked.

Regina slapped her arm with a roll of eyes, but didn't accept nor reject Emma's offer, and they leant back as the movie started. She didn't fall asleep this time, but Henry did by the end of the movie, so Regina picked him up.

However, Emma didn't want the night to end so, encouraged by the beer she had had and the kiss, she whispered, "He can sleep in my bed while we have a glass of Chardonnay? I haven't even tried it yet."

Regina blinked at her but nodded, leaving him in Emma's bed. When she returned Emma had turned off the TV and was pulling out two glasses. Regina grabbed the bottle of wine and pointed at the terrace. "Shall we? It's a beautiful night."

They sat next to each other, looking out at the views of the beach that was nearby, as Emma poured two glasses of wine. Regina smelled it and smiled, but Emma just took a sip and licked her lips. "Okay, this is good."

"How come you had never tried yet you appeared with it for dinner?" Regina wondered after taking a long sip, watching her.

Emma laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. "Actually," she admitted, "a friend helped me choose. I don't know a thing about wines, unlike you it seems."

Regina glanced at her glass, "I like to admire fine things." Her eyes fell upon Emma and stared intently at her, making the blonde gulp.

She took another sip, draining the glass and refilling hers and Regina's when the brunette handed it to her. They remained quiet for a while when Emma felt the alcohol kicking in. "So how old are you? Because there was only one candle and you're certainly not one."

"Didn't your mother tell you asking people about their age is rude?" Regina joked, but Emma's smile disappeared as she looked down.

"Actually no," she muttered.

Regina, not wanting to pry, glanced down at her glass too. "I'm 30 now."

Emma whipped her head to look at her and her eyes roamed the other woman's body incredulously. "No way you're 30."

"Well, thank you," Regina conceded hiding her flushed cheeks with the glass. "But I am. How about you? How old are you?"

"I'm 24, but I'll be 25 in a month."

"Makes me feel old," Regina laughed, but Emma looked at her seriously.

"You don't look old at all. You look…." Amazing. Breathtaking. Gorgeous. "Good."

Regina arched an eyebrow as she took another sip of the wine. "For my age?"

Emma shook her head and smiled, "Just…good." They drank from their glasses, emptying the bottle sip by sip in silence, only broken by comments about the views and other banal things.

They were in silence though when Regina asked lowly, "Emma?"

"Yeah?"

There was a beat but before Emma could ask again, Regina spoke. "Do you believe in fate?"

"As in everything happens because it is written that way?"

"Yes."

"Nope." She looked over at Regina as she refilled her glass. "Do you?"

Regina's eyes travelled down to her glass and shook her head lightly. "I don't know."

"I think everyone writes their own story as it happens, you know," Emma explained with a shrug. "You choose your own destiny. Fate is just an excuse."

Regina turned to look at Emma, leaning forward. "But what if everything happens for a reason?"

Emma swallowed the wine and left the glass on the table, next to them. "There is a reason," she argued. "You made the choices and it led you there. You're the reason."

"I mean a greater reason."

Emma tilted her head, "For example?"

Regina bit her lip and frowned. "I don't know, like you leaving your job made you end up here, this week. You made the choice when you left your job, but you did because it was written that way. And that made you come here on vacations."

Their gazes locked and Emma frowned. Was Regina implying that the two of them meeting there was because it was their destiny? She couldn't be saying that.

Emma chuckled and filled her glass, "I think I haven't drunk enough to go that deep." Regina lowered her gaze and smiled softly, more to herself than to Emma. "It was good though, meeting you guys. It's kind of sad that you leave tomorrow."

"I bet Henry will be sad too."

"Will you?" Emma asked looking up to meet her eyes. Regina returned the gaze but when she opened her mouth to speak, both of them heard a soft voice coming from inside.

"Mom?"

They turned to see Henry brushing his eyes, walking into the living room. Regina smiled at him and turned to Emma. "He can fall asleep on the floor but the moment he is in another bed that is not his own, he wakes up," she explained standing up. "I should take him to our room."

Emma walked inside with her and Regina held Henry's hand. "We'll stay tomorrow in the pool until the afternoon," she said as they made their way to the door.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Emma asked trying to hide the glee in her voice while she opened the door.

Regina nodded. "We'll be there." She looked down at Henry who was almost sleeping as he walked and smiled. "I guess we'll see you tomorrow and you can say goodbye to him."

"Cool," Emma smiled. "I'll see you guys tomorrow then."

Regina stopped to take another look at Emma before turning and leaving with Henry while the blonde watched them. When she closed the door, she leaned her head on it. She was dizzy and her head was turning, but she was sure about the conversation she had had with Regina. She was sure the other woman had meant  _something_  and Emma realised she had a chance.

The next day she would ask her about it and maybe ask her phone number to keep in touch when they parted ways. Emma grinned to herself as she picked up the glasses of wine and the empty bottle. The next day would definitely be a good day.

* * *

Emma woke up early next morning. She made time eating breakfast and taking a long shower, but truth was that she was nervous about seeing Regina again. It was her last chance and she wanted to invite her for a date, but she realised she didn't know where Regina was from, so she was just happy with asking for her number to keep in touch and then they could arrange a date somewhere in the middle of where they lived.

When she was tired of making time, she headed towards the pool at 10 sharp, but there was no sign of Regina or Henry, so she waited. Maybe they were packing and that's why it took them so long. So Emma waited until 11. Then until noon. Then until 1 and there was still no sign of them.

Regina had promised her they would be there so there was no reason for her to lie. Unless Emma had scared her away or maybe she was just being polite. It was very unlikely to meet again so it would be easy to just lie and leave.

Emma waited until 4 but by then she was starving and she was pretty sure they wouldn't appear anytime soon. They had left without a word. She still had two days left of vacations and she should be happy to have some good and relaxing days to herself, but couldn't stop herself from wondering what had happened, going over every conversation they had had. By the end of her vacation she just came to the conclusion that she had misread Regina.

When Emma came back home to the city and opened the door of her apartment, she closed her eyes and listened to the loud sounds of the street. At the resort she hadn't even missed them, being with Henry and Regina almost all the time, but now she found out they hadn't been there all along.

She flopped on her couch and her phone rang. She reached for it and Ruby yelled at her on the other side, making Emma laugh. She was back home at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did Regina promise it if she wasn't going to go? Now that Emma's back home, what's going to happen? Let me know your theories :)


	6. Chapter 6

"I still can't believe you actually got me a job with you," Emma said shaking her head.

Ruby was giving her a tour around the floor, showing her where each team was located. Her friend was a part of the accounts department and although they were on different floors, she wasn't far from where Emma would work, so they could spend some time together.

"It's not that unbelievable. You are good at what you do," Ruby praised her as they reached the blonde's desk. "I just had to show it to them."

"You're just being good because I told you I would buy you lunch today." Emma raised her eyebrow at Ruby, who shrugged unbothered.

"Yeah, but I still did it so I expect a big hamburger menu at noon," she smiled wolfishly.

"Okay, okay," Emma laughed as she took a sit. "Is there anything else I need to know? You know, like who I shouldn't bother or something like that?"

Ruby leaned on her desk next to her, crossing her arms on her chest and eyeing the office. It was spacious, an open concept space as they would call it on those TV shows about home renovations Emma used to watch. Each of them had their cubicle, but they were open and at least 3 departments were on that floor, all together: the public relations team, the creative's one and the social media agents.

"I don't really know them personally because I barely come up here, but I haven't heard any complaints," she explained. "Only the usual weird stuff, like having coffee in motivational mugs and stuff. I don't know why the creative people try so hard so have that hipster slash happy vibe," Ruby rolled her eyes.

Emma smiled and her eyes fell upon her friend's cup of coffee that sat on her desk. It was colourful and Emma knew that if she turned it, she could read a motivational message.

"Looks like we switched our jobs. I'm the moody one, while you're the hipster slash happy kind of worker," she finished drawing air quotes at the reference to Ruby's description.

"People in accounts are not moody," Ruby retorted, but Emma raised her eyebrows and she rolled her eyes. "Well,  _some_ are. Whatever. I think you'll be fine here. Mr. Brett told me you could go talk to him at his office when you were settled; he probably wants to give you some advices about where to buy these mugs."

Emma pushed Ruby off her desk and the other girl complained between laughs. "Oh so it's Mr. Brett now? Last week I thought it was Mr. Big Di—"

Ruby threw a pencil at her, which hit her head. "Go see him before I regret to have tipped him about your brilliant curriculum. I'll come and find you for lunch. Good luck!" She waved her hand while she walked away and Emma waved back.

Emma sighed and moved in her seat, trying to get more comfortable, but after a few tries, she decided she would have back pain until she was able to change the chair. Her desk was clean, almost impersonal. It's not like she had a lot of things to decorate her cubicle, but it felt a little cold so she mentally noted to buy a cactus. At least it wouldn't die, not like the other numerous plants she had bought in the past only to die in a couple of days.

After taking the elevator up and taking a few breaths, she knocked on her boss' door and waited to hear his permission to go in. He was shorter than she had expected, or at least more than Ruby had described him, and when he stood up to shake her hand she noticed he was wearing short jeans. Emma concealed the surprise at the outfit when she took a seat in front of him.

"I'm glad we finally meet. Ruby has talked wonders about you and your work as a creative," he said leaning back on his chair.

Emma concealed a grin at her friend's compliments and confirmed she had totally earned that big menu later. "She has also talked to me about this company and I can only say I'm honoured to have the opportunity to work here," she smiled politely.

He waved his hand, "Don't be so formal. You see, here at like to think that working is not a duty. We see it more like a hobby, something we enjoy and in addition we make money from that." He rose to his feet and rounded his desk to sit on it, closer to Emma.

"Not only us, the creative team, but every department work under the motto that quality is better than quantity. Advertising is a world in which we can't produce like a car factory or something like that. We need time to think about the creative proposal, how we're doing things, how we design them to be the best out there in the real world, you get me?"

Emma nodded, but remained quiet, thinking about Ruby's words about the motivational mugs and that 'vibe'. It was clear to her that he was trying to act like the cool uncle everyone loved.

"So I am your direct boss. There are more before me and more before them, but I hope you don't see me as an authoritarian figure. I'm more of a work college. The only difference between us if that I am the messenger to the top bosses."

 _And the salary,_ she thought, but smiled politely at him. Emma knew those kind of bosses that acted like if they were cool and nice and modern, but in the end all of them were the same. She wondered why Ruby had started seeing him—in secret, of course, since relationships between workers were forbidden—and then she remembered the nickname Ruby had given him.

"I can't wait to see your work," he finished with a grin and Emma looked up, coming back into the conversation and nodding.

"I'll go get to work then."

She flashed the most positive smile she could and she was sure she had made it when he raised his thumbs up. When Emma left his office, let out some air and shook her head. It was a good company, she reminded to herself. It would be fine.

* * *

A young boy raised his head to look at them from under a hat. "You want fries with your menu?"

"Duh," Ruby rolled her eyes before turning to Emma. "So you didn't like Peter?"

Emma pulled out her credit card and offered it to the boy who was as excited about doing his job as a rock. "Ruby, he goes around in jean shorts." She pressed the secret number and put her card back into her wallet. "I don't think I've ever been so embarrassed like when he stood and I saw him. He could tell I was confused."

They made their way to a secluded table, the only free one they could see, and sat in front of each other. "He is not the greatest guy, but he's good in bed." Ruby picked a fry from the bag and Emma closed her eyes.

"Please, he's my boss now. I don't want to know."

Ruby laughed and took a sip from her soda. "God if Granny saw me having this for lunch she would probably kill me but I  _love_ these burgers."

Emma remembered when Granny, Ruby's grandmother who took care of her since her parents died, used to make her special grilled cheese for them in the summer. She had grown up parentless, always jumping from one family to another, but she always returned to the orphanage and Emma had learned that in the end that was the place she liked the most. It was sad and she had to clean the bathrooms every day, but at least she was close to Ruby's house. That's how they had met, when Emma had sneak out one night only to find Ruby on her porch. They had been talking and playing all night and since then they had been friends. Even when Emma was sent away with another family, Ruby always kept in touch with her.

"If she  _heard_  you say that, she would definitely kill you." Emma opened her own burger and she had to admit they were really good.

"Anyways, Peter may look like he's a douche and a freak, but I can tell you he is not like that," Ruby continued as she took a bite of her burger. She hummed and cleaned her mouth off the grease. "But let's talk about something more important here. What happened during your vacations? Because you have a lot to explain and you wouldn't tell me on the phone. I mean, you made me  _wait_  another whole day to tell me. That's cruel."

"It's not a  _lot_  to explain," Emma rolled her eyes, but Ruby stared at her pointedly and she sighed. "I don't know where to start. It's just…Well, it may be a lot."

Ruby checked her watch and rested her chin on her hand. "Well, we have 20 minutes so you can start on the beginning. Like who's this woman who likes wine."

"Actually," Emma realized right there. "I don't know anything about her. The only thing I know is her name and that she has a son."

"You hooked up with a mother?" Ruby exclaimed. "Was she a milf?"

"She so was, but I didn't hook up with her."

Ruby stopped the burger midway to her mouth and looked at her. She left it carefully back on the plate and looked at Emma. "You're telling me that you, miss 'I can have any girl eating from the palm of my hand' didn't hook up with her?" Emma shrugged and Ruby tilted her head. "Wait, she wasn't into girls?"

"I don't know." She really didn't know a thing about Regina and Emma frowned. "I think she was, and I think she was into me but I don't know. It was really weird."

"Was it the kid? Was he annoying?" Ruby wondered, but Emma shook her head quickly.

"No, he was the sweetest. I actually started to talk to her because of him." She saw Ruby's face and rushed to clarify, "And before you say it no, I didn't use him to get to her. He hit me with a toy and somehow we ended up playing in the pool and then his mother came."

"So you can say it was fate that pushed you together."

Emma rolled her eyes. "It's not fate." She remembered her conversation with Regina on their last night and her furrow grew deeper, "Although she may have mentioned that exact same thing."

Ruby waited until she swallowed the burger and took a sip of her drink to help it go down her throat before raising her hands. "Okay, you need to start from the beginning now. And tell me everything, don't leave anything out."

* * *

Emma had forgotten her food. She was so into the story, remembering Regina and reliving every moment, trying to find out where she did wrong, that by the time she finished she hadn't eaten anything.

"Are you sure she didn't leave any message?" Ruby asked, taking the last sips from her drinks. On the contrary of her friend, Ruby had eaten her meal while she listened almost without realizing.

"Of course I'm sure. I waited for them the whole day. If she had Leith a message someone would have told me, right? But it was like if they hadn't existed."

"Did you ask for her to the receptionist?"

Emma raised her eyebrows, "Are you serious? I'm not some kind of stalker." She picked up a fry and shrugged, "I don't know. If she didn't leave a message it must mean something."

"But from what you're telling me I think she  _was_  into you!" Ruby exclaimed, earning a few looks from the tables near them.

"I thought so too! If you had seen how she looked at me that night, Rubes. I swear I thought if I asked her for a date she would have said yes."

"We have to find her," Ruby decided hitting the table. "There has to be a reason to why she didn't show up."

"Rubes, I only know her name," Emma sighed looking down at her plate. Telling the story again to her friend had made her remember those days and how much she missed it. "I'm not going to find her neither are you. Who do you think we are? Detectives?"

"You know her name and her son's. It can't be that hard?" Ruby insisted, but Emma shook her head.

"I don't even know where they're from."

Ruby picked some fries from Emma's plate and kept working on her plan, "You didn't catch any accent?"

"Nope."

"Mmmm. Okay," she gave up leaning back on her seat. "Maybe it will be hard."

"I think we should just forget about it and move on. It didn't mean anything." The moment it left her mouth, Emma knew it hadn't been believable at all. She confirmed it when Ruby blinked at her.

"It does mean something to you. I can tell by your face when you told me all this. I had never seen you like this."

Emma knew she was right, but she shrugged, surrendered. "However it is, it ended where it started, so let's just forget about it."

Ruby stared at her friend and bit her lip. She had never seen Emma like that and she really wanted to help, but Emma was right that time. It was impossible to find her mystery woman.

"Yeah, we should probably just forget it," she agreed, stealing another fry from Emma.

* * *

David appeared from nowhere and leaned his head on Emma's cubicle. "Hey, didn't you hear? Peter wants to see us in the meeting room."

Emma snapped out of herself and looked at her colleague. She had been so into the report she had forgotten about the hour. "Is 5 already?" He nodded and watched her pick up the mess of her desk quickly and stand up. "Shit. Never let me zone out like that again," she told him as they walked together.

"Like if you didn't do just that every day. Without me you would stay until you realized it's dark outside."

During the first 3 weeks of her job, Emma had quickly found her place in the company. David worked with her in the creative team and he became her friend a few days after she started working there. She elbowed him as a response and saw everyone on the floor approaching the meeting room. She caught Ruby's eye, who waved at her, and next to her was Mary Margaret, who worked along Ruby and Emma had met there. Before Emma could join them though, Peter Brett, who was still wearing jean shorts even though it was a cold December, appeared in the room making everyone go quiet.

"Thank you all for coming today," he started. "Some of you already know, but I'm here to make the announcement official."

"I think he's going to say he's finally going to stop wearing shorts," David whispered Emma, making her stifle a laugh as she shot him a glare.

"These years have been amazing for me. I've grown so much and I've learned a lot from you. I started from the bottom and ended up being the creative department chief, something I'm very grateful for." He nodded at a couple of people in suits in a side on the room, who nodded back. Emma had seen them around and she had guessed they were the high-up of the company. "However, I'm afraid I've reached my top and I found I want to keep growing. That's why I'm leaving this company today."

A few gasp were heard and Emma searched for Ruby's eyes, questioning her with her glance. Ruby shrugged and shook her head at the same time Peter motioned them to be quiet.

"I want to thank you all for working by my side these past years and I hope life treats you well. If we're lucky we'll meet again." He dipped his head and clasped his hands together in a grateful gesture while everyone in the room applauded.

They approached him in groups to say goodbye to him, Emma included. She had only been 3 weeks working for him, but she had to admit he really was the cool guy she didn't think he would be. After the goodbyes, everyone came back to their desk to gather their things and leave for that day. Emma waited for Ruby and Mary Margaret at the hall and, once they joined her and David, they left the building.

"So you didn't know either?" Emma asked Ruby once they were on the street.

The brunette shook her head, "It's not like we're in a serious relationship. We hook up sometimes and that's all."

"I mean it doesn't surprise me, to be honest," David commented. "In the 3 years I've been working for him, I learned he's kind of a free soul."

"That's deep," Emma joked, earning a glare from David. "So who are we working for now?"

"I heard from Belle at Human Resources that she's coming tomorrow," Mary Margaret informed them, entering the conversation.

"Oh a  _she_ ," Ruby sang, looking at Emma pointedly.

"You are the one who is into bosses," she replied.

"Who knows." Ruby passed her arm around Emma's shoulder and smiled, "Maybe this will be your first."

* * *

The next morning Emma was too sleepy to even remember that day was the first day of her new boss. She walked in yawning, as usual, and left her bag next to her chair when she sat. She was yawning again when David jumped next to her.

"Emma, what are you doing?" he asked urgently.

She raised her head and shrugged, "Uh, waking up?"

He rolled his eyes and lifted her up from her chair. "At this pace I'm becoming your personal agenda. 8:30 am; meeting with the new boss." He pushed her forward, "Go, go, go."

When they entered the elevator, they found Mary Margaret and Ruby who looked as excited as David. "Hey, you know anything?" he asked them after giving Mary Margaret a look and making her blush.

"I only caught her name from some people who were gossiping around." The doors opened and the four of them along with a bunch of other workers left the elevator and headed to the meeting room. "I heard her name is Regina and that she is a total bitch."

The name made Emma almost halt in the hallway; she probably would have done it if she wasn't being pushed by David. She had tried to forget her Regina, but every day, at the end of the day when it was dark enough to let her thoughts loose out of the cage she tried to keep them in, she remembered her.

She looked at Ruby, who remembered her too in that moment. "Funny," she told the other two as they entered the room. "I met a Regina a few weeks ago, but she was no b—"

In the middle of the room was Regina.  _Her_ Regina. The Regina of the white dresses and bikinis and shorts. She was there, standing in a power suit, next to the big bosses of the company.

Emma, who had stopped in the door when she had seen her, was pushed inside by some other workers and she tripped over her own feet, almost falling to the floor if Ruby hadn't caught her. When Emma raised her head, her eyes met deep dark brown staring at her from across the room. Behind them, the door closed and someone Emma didn't recognise cleared her throat next to Regina, who took an extra second before looking away.

"Good morning everyone. I'm Regina Mills, and as you must have already guessed, I'm the new head of the creative department."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew some of you saw that coming! I hope it was up to your expectations. We'll see how this goes soon :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the mistakes you'll probably find and enjoy!

_"_ _Good morning everyone. I'm Regina Mills, and as you must have already guessed, I'm the new head of the creative department._ "

Emma didn't hear a word after that. She knew Regina was giving her welcome speech, but all she could hear was the drumming of her heartbeat in her ears. She couldn't stop staring at her. Regina was there. Regina was her direct boss. She was even more beautiful than she remembered.

Regina, however, didn't look at her at all and, when she finished and everyone clapped, Emma found herself being dragged out of the room by a tide of people. Outside, she felt her arm being caught and someone yanked, bringing her close to Ruby who had fished her out of the small crowd. "Hey Ems, you okay? You are paler than ever."

Raising her gaze, Emma blinked at Ruby and seemed to wake up from a trance. "She…" She couldn't finish the sentence when she caught a glimpse of dark hair disappearing into the crowd. "Regina."

"Yeah, that's her name. She looks like a bitch like Mary Margaret said," her friend commented while David joined them.

"Ruby, MM said she came back downstairs because she still has to finish some reports, that's why she didn't wait for you." He looked over Emma and arched his eyebrows, "What a speech, right?"

"Huh?" Emma was still confused and she hadn't heard any of the speech Regina had given, but she had no time to react when the crowd opened to let someone pass and and there she was.

"David Nolan?" she called.

The whole office, which was filled with the murmur of people talking about the latest news, fell silent and David turned to look at her. Regina's eyes found Emma's and their gazes locked for the second time that day. Unlike in that short week on vacations, Regina's eyes gave nothing away. She had already been mysterious, but in that moment Emma couldn't even take a guess on what was going on her mind. Her face was blank and they only broke eye contact when David walked past her and they disappeared behind the elevator's doors.

Ruby sighed and shrugged to herself, turning to Emma. "I gotta go Em, see you at lunch?"

Emma nodded absently and watched the closed elevator for a while longer before shaking her head and coming back to her desk. She had things to do, she had to do some research for another campaign but as she scrolled on her laptop, she could shake the image of Regina standing in the middle of the meeting room.

She hadn't mentioned her job back in their vacations, only that she played with people's minds. "Of course," Emma murmured to herself. They used to say that about publicists. But what are the odds of their paths crossing again like that? Maybe Regina had a twin? "Yeah," she rolled her eyes at her own thought. "A twin with the same name. Good job Emma."

"Talking to yourself again?" David asked as he stared down at her from his spot above her cubicle. Emma jumped in her seat and closed her eyes, making him chuckle. "You really get lost in there."

"When did you come out?" she asked instead, turning to eye curiously around the office to look for her, but there was no sing of her.

He shrugged and picked up one of her pens, the one with a boxing glove at the top. "It was quick, she only wanted me to inform her about our procedure and that stuff. She looks tough."

At his description the image of Regina playing with Henry and herself on the pool came to her mind and found it hard to believe. Henry! How could she have forgotten? Maybe she had a picture with him on her desk or something. If only she could go in and check it…

"She didn't want to talk to the whole team?" she wondered while she acted like if she was busy. He pressed a button on the pen and the boxing glove hit her forehead as he shook his head.

"Nah, she told me that would be all and that she expected us to finish our tasks like if nothing had happened."

Emma waved her hand to push away David's attempts at hitting her with the pen. "Well then, let's do it. I'm almost done with the research, maybe we could take a look at it with the rest of the team?"

David dropped the pen on her desk and nodded, "Sure." He turned to leave but in the last moment turned again, making a full circle to look at her. "By the way, MM asked me if you were going to have lunch with Ruby and if we could join you guys."

"Are you going to even look away from each other's eyes this time?" Emma teased, earning a ball of a post it thrown in her direction. She laughed and dodged it. "Sure. I'll tell you when I finish this and then we can go."

He saluted her and walked away, dropping on his chair a few desks away as he chatted with another co-worker. It was true, Emma was halfway done with the research report, but it took her twice the time it usually took her because all she could think about is the fact that Regina was only a floor away.

After the initial shock and star truck, Emma's thoughts began to flow and with that the embarrassment she had felt that last day of Regina's vacation, when she hadn't showed up. That ended up in anger and suddenly Emma went to wanting to go into Regina's office and kiss her to wanting to kick down the door and demand an explanation as to why the woman left her abandoned like a lost puppy. She knew it wasn't a big deal, but as the time went by, Emma's anger only grew and by lunch's time she could feel her cheeks flushed only by thinking about how she had felt waiting for Regina all day in the pool.

When Emma called Ruby and the rest of the group, she decided to wait and get her friend alone to drop the bomb. They had lunch together at a café near the office and Emma could see from her seat what she knew to be Regina's office, but she couldn't see the woman there. After a while she gave up and focused on her friends; she wouldn't let Regina take over her life that easily. Not again at least.

* * *

Emma opened every bathroom stall to make sure they were alone under Ruby's confused eyes. When she checked there was no one there with them, Emma came back with her friend and leaned on the bathroom sink.

"Okay, I have to tell you something."

Ruby pulled out her toothbrush and put some toothpaste on it, "Clearly. You're acting like if you were on the CIA."

Emma fidgeted impatiently on the balls of her feet and took a deep breath. "Remember Regina?" Ruby tilted her head and looked at her through the reflection on the mirror. "As in  _my_ Regina? The one that we couldn't even imagine to find because we only knew her name?"

Ruby halted her toothbrush in her mouth and stared at Emma. "Wait. Regina."

"Yes," Emma nodded hastily.

"Shut up." Ruby's eyes were wide now and she leaned down quickly to spit the toothpaste before turning to Emma. "No way. Your Regina is this Regina?" Emma nodded once again and she watched her friend's eyebrows almost disappear on her hairline. "It's…"

"Crazy, I know," Emma agreed.

"She really is hot, you weren't lying," Ruby murmured more to herself but Emma raised an eyebrow and she shook her head. "Well then, what are you waiting for? You have the opportunity to as her why she left and talk to her!"

"She saw me, I think she recognised me. Why doesn't  _she_ come and tell me?" Emma said crossing her arms defensively. "She's had all morning."

"Oooh, someone's resentful," Ruby grinned.

Emma rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Of course I am! She owes me an explanation but I'm not the one who's going to go running behind her asking her to tell me." Ruby stared at Emma and offered a tiny smile she tried to conceal but failed, making the blonde squint her eyes. "What?"

"You really care about her."

"I just told you I'm mad at her," Emma reminded her, but Ruby shook her head.

"I had never seen you so bitter about anyone not talking to you. You care about her and about what she thinks about you. You really  _like_ her."

Emma stepped away from the sink and shrugged. "It doesn't matter anyways, unless she does something to make up for what happened." She walked to the door and turned when she didn't hear Ruby following her. "Are you coming or what?"

Ruby sprinted towards her and nudged her arm, "Don't hold a grudge. I bet she has a very reasonable excuse."

"I'll be the one to judge that," Emma mumbled as she sat on her chair.

* * *

It was almost time to leave and Emma was on her desk. It had been a rather quiet day, not like she would have expected with a change of director, but the team had worked like any other day. Emma had reunited with some colleagues to check some works and she had also spent most of her time with the graphic design team, working on some projects.

Emma saw Regina a couple of times, appearing on her floor, usually with stacks of papers in her hands. She went from here to there and not one time they crossed in the hallways and Regina never looked at her. When Emma glanced at the clock, she started to save all the documents and started to gather her things since she was even ahead some projects and could have the luxury of not staying late to finish them.

David however had to stay there and, when she texted Ruby to let her know she was leaving, her friend informed her that downstairs they were busy and she couldn't walk home with her like they used to. So Emma stood up and sighed, making her way to the elevator. She pressed the button and waited, and when it didn't come, she pressed again several times, harder every time; she just wanted to get home and her frustration was only growing.

"Did that button do anything to you to suffer such abuse?" she heard somewhere next to her.

Emma jumped and realised the elevator's doors were open. She had been so into pressing the button, lost in thought, she had heard it arrive. But what most surprised Emma was that Regina was inside, looking at her with a tiny smirk, like if she was laughing at her.

"Regina," she dipped her head as she stomped into the elevator. When the doors closed they were in silence and Emma could feel the tension in the air. She wasn't imagining it; Regina remembered her, it was obvious. And she had had the audacity of laughing at her the first time she spoke to her!

Still, she tried to maintain calm as she asked the only question she was willing to ask her. "How's Henry?" she questioned shortly.

Regina whipped her head to look at her, but Emma kept her eyes at the front as her jaw clenched. The brunette's eyes fell to the ground for a second before mirroring Emma's posture. "He's fine."

"Cool."

After a beat, Regina cleared her throat next to her, pulling Emma out of her thoughts. "Emma…" she started, but she doors flew open and a few workers entered the elevator, pushing them away.

Emma was turning to look at her when Mary Margaret appeared in front of her, blocking Regina's sight. "Hey Emma!"

The little brunette started to talk to her about an incident she had had that day and when the elevator reached the lower floor, all the occupants came out. Mary Margaret kept telling her the story, but Emma's attention was focused on looking for Regina. She only caught a glimpse of her as the other woman entered a taxi.

After saying goodbye to her friend, Emma made her way to the subway while her mind worked on figuring out what Regina was about to say in the elevator.

* * *

She never knew. Emma had imagined all possible things the other woman would have wanted to tell her, but whatever it really was, she never tried to tell Emma again. The next day, the blonde arrived to her desk with a little of hope, but as the day went by she didn't see Regina. By the end of the day, Emma's hope had dissipated and was replaced with the same rage again. She didn't meet Regina in the elevator this time when she left.

Over the next days, Emma started to see Regina again wandering on her floor. It was normal since her team worked there, but whenever she thought Regina was going to talk to her, Emma found an excuse and avoided her. She knew it was silly and that if they talked maybe Regina would really explain herself, but Emma was too stubborn to let it go that easily and after a couple of weeks Emma received her boss' directions from another team mate or by a excessively formal e-mail. That only made her get even angrier.

The only contact outside of work issues happened while Emma was walking down a hallway, checking some documents on her tablet so she didn't notice someone walking on the other direction. They collided and papers flew between them, along with the tablet.

"Shit," Emma breathed, leaning down to pick up the tablet and praying for it to not be broken. "Sorry," she said to the other person. When she raised her head, her eyes met Regina's in front of her, on her knees too to pick up the papers that were laid out on the floor now.

"It's okay," Regina said coldly. She gathered everything quickly and they both stood up.

Regina dipped her head and started to walk without another word, but something possessed Emma, who turned and asked her out loud, "Did you stalk me?"

Regina stopped and turned, tilting her head, "Excuse me?"

"Did you stalk me?" Emma repeated. "Did you figured out were I worked and applied for a position here?"

The posture of Regina's body somehow became more regal than before as she shook her head softly. "I was hired here before we met."

"How come Peter never said a word about that?" Emma wondered but Regina only shrugged and the blonde noticed that even that gesture she made it look elegant.

"He only told me he had a few things to arrange before he left, so he took his time." Regina rolled her eyes softly, "Not like you need an explanation for your former superior's actions."

The mention of an explanation made Emma's jaw clench. If Regina was going to act like nothing had happened and be cold towards her, then she could do that to. Emma turned without a further word and walked away. Two could play that game.

* * *

Emma heard the door of her apartment closing. She was still asleep, but her senses kicked in when the door of her bedroom opened. She was slow though, because she had no time to register Ruby entering her room and jumping on her bed.

"Happy birthday!" she yelled at Emma while she fell over her. "Wake up you sleepy head, we gotta go to work."

"Ruby," Emma groaned, hiding her face with the pillow when her friend turned on the light. "Five more minutes, please."

"Nope." Ruby tugged at her blanket and slid it off the bed, leaving Emma without a cover. The blonde curled up, feeling the chill air of the morning hit her skin. "I prepared you breakfast and for once you're going to have it before going to work. You know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and at your age I wouldn't risk it."

"I'm only one more year old than you," Emma protested rolling her eyes as she sat up and stretched.

"Enough." Ruby opened the curtains, letting the weak light take over the room, before heading out of the room, shouting over her shoulder, "Get dressed quick!"

After several yawns, Emma appeared in her living room fully dressed and with wet hair from the shower. Ruby was waiting for her on the couch, watching TV, and when Emma joined her she pushed her friend's feet off the couch and fell down.

"I know you've been down because of your problems with Regina, so I made you pancakes." Ruby offered her a plate and when Emma looked down she saw a muffin with a single candle. "But I burned them, so I bought you a muffin," she finished. She light up the candle and reminded Emma to make a wish.

She wasn't 3 and Emma knew wishes didn't come true, but still she wished for once her life went up instead of down. After blowing the candle, she opened Ruby's gift, which consisted on a brand new leather jacket.

"Ruby, this shit is expensive. You didn't have to buy me anything, I've told you," she said while she ran her hands over the leather.

"Try it on and see if it fits," her friend said instead. Emma listened to her and tried it on, admiring it on the mirror. It was blue, different from her favourite red leather jacket, and she loved it. After thanking her friend, they made their way to work and Emma felt that day really was her day.

* * *

"Fuck," Emma exhaled, throwing the pen to the screen of her computer. The whole presentation she had ready had magically erased, or more like it hadn't been correctly saved the previous day. She had to have it done by next morning and she only came to realise about this after lunch. She would have to stay a few extra hours on her birthday to finish it if she didn't want to earn a giant speech about her failure.

She texted Ruby to tell her that she would have to stay a little longer, but she hoped to make it to the birthday night. They had planned to go out with Mary Margaret, David, Peter and a friend of Ruby, and Emma really wanted to go out and let loose for one night.

"Fucking awesome," she murmured again as she opened a new document and stretched her back, hurting from her chair.

* * *

It was getting dark when Emma finally finished the presentation. She calculated she still had a few hours to get home and get ready for that night, so she bolted towards the elevator. It arrived soon and when the doors opened, Emma found Regina already inside.

She entered the small space with a nod, their usual salute when they encountered in the hallways and the doors closed. By that hour on a Friday, it was hard to find people still working there, so this time the elevator didn't make a stop on its way down. At least that's what Emma thought, but suddenly the elevator stopped and the lights blinked. The doors didn't open and it didn't move.

Emma pressed the button of the lower floor over and over but the elevator didn't move. She leaned her forehead against the wall and swallowed. "Fucking great," she whispered to herself as she finally came to realization that they were stuck in there together.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really cannot thank you guys enough for all the feedback. You're the best, seriously.

"Really?" Regina asked.

Emma rolled her eyes, "You really think I would make a joke like this?" Regina sighed and pulled out her phone from her purse, something Emma hadn't thought about. They both searched for signal but they couldn't find any.

"Great," Regina mumbled, shoving the device back into her purse and leaning back on the wall. "I was supposed to pick up Henry after his theatre class."

"Yeah, I was supposed to meet Ruby at my apartment," Emma sighed, leaning on another wall, leaving space between them. Her head fell backwards and she closed her eyes. Being inside a closed space with Regina was and wasn't the thing she wanted. She couldn't deny Regina was still as beautiful as when they had met, but those feelings were mixed up with her resent, making it dangerous combination.

They remained silent while Emma pressed every button on the panel, trying to make it work somehow, until Regina raised a hand to her head and demanded slightly annoyed, "Will you stop? You're not going to make it work. They must know something is wrong by now. It's only a matter of time before they take us out of here."

Emma turned to glare at her for being scolded like a child, but noticed the little drops of sweat on Regina's forehead, falling down, and how her breathing was uneven. She stopped but didn't say anything, taking a seat. After a while Regina sat too, leaning her head back in the wall next to the blonde. This time, Emma bit her lip, trying to stop the question to come out, but it wasn't enough.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

Regina waved her hand and shook her head, "Yes, it's just—I'm not quite fond of closed spaces."

Emma reached for her bag and fished a bottle of water she was carrying and offered it to Regina. "They will come and get us soon. You said it yourself."

"I only said it to make you stop punching those buttons," Regina admitted accepting the bottle with a thankful little smile. "I didn't know you had so much hatred towards buttons," she teased after taking a long sip. She gave the bottle back with a thank you and Emma put it back inside.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," she murmured. It seemed to have the effect she had gone for, but she found she actually didn't like to see that expression on Regina's face, so she added, "But hating buttons isn't one of them."

Regina's features softened, but she didn't smile. Instead, she focused on brushing away the wrinkles of her coat. The elevator filled with silence while their minds roamed about things more alike than they would have expected. In there time seemed to go slower than usually, Emma noticed when she checked the hour and only 2 minutes had passed.

"By the way, happy birthday," Regina said after wetting her lips.

Emma's head darted upwards to look at her, not expecting that. "Uh, thanks." She squinted her eyes, taking advantage of Regina not meeting her eye to scrutinize her. "How do you know?"

"I'm your boss," Regina said like if was the most obvious thing. "I read every worker's file."

However, the tone wasn't enough for Emma, who could see right through Regina and noticed the gentle blush on her cheeks. Her lips lifted upwards slightly as she arched an eyebrow. "Sure."

Regina took off her coat and left it aside, staying with the whitest shirt Emma had ever seen. The blonde tried not to admire how good it looked on her, how the boss look fit her so well. Emma shook her head and tilted her from side to side making her bones crack. She grimaced and massaged her back, catching Regina's eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Emma held back a moan when she pressed on a particular knot on her shoulder. "Yeah. It's just the shitty chairs we have. I should file a complaint to you now that you're my boss."

"I have a good chair," Regina pointed out, making Emma roll her eyes and breath out a laugh.

"Duh, you're the head of the department. Big fishes always get the best everything." Emma started to feel the effects of being stuck in the elevator and peeled off her brand new jacket, leaving it over Regina's coat.

Regina couldn't help but follow her motions with her eyes and she fixed the jacket, laying it down more gently that Emma had. "Nice jacket," she commented.

Emma looked up at Regina, then at her jacket, then back at the brunette as she understood. "Thanks. It's a gift from Ruby."

"That's Ruby from accounts?" she wondered, raising her eyebrows curiously. Emma nodded, suspicious about the question. "I've seen you a lot together on the hallways."

Emma narrowed her eyes at her, trying to figure out if she had heard any signs of jealousy in her voice. Regina on her hand avoided the eye contact, unbuttoning one of the buttons of her shirt and fanning herself with her hand. Emma could see the ravages of heat, clear in the way drops of sweat fell down Regina's neck. The blonde found herself following them with her eyes and closed them, leaning her head back against the wall and sighing loudly. She checked her phone and saw that they had already been 15 minutes locked up and she wonder how much more they would take to get them out.

As time went by, the question started to form in Emma's mind. She was dying to ask but she knew that the moment she did a lot would happen next and she didn't know if she was ready for that. It could go in her favour but it could also backfire and leave them in an awkward position, something that wasn't good now that they had to work together.

Instead of asking what she wanted, she went for the easy path. "So Henry's taking theatre classes?"

Immediately, Regina's features softened and she offered a smile Emma knew to be reserved only for him. "Yes, it's a good way for him to meet people now that we just moved in."

"You just moved in?" Emma wondered, hoping she elaborated. Instead, Regina just nodded. "First time in the city?"

"For him, yes. I lived here a long time ago." There was a beat in which Regina slid a hand through her hair, "It has changed."

"Yeah," Emma agreed although she really didn't know what she meant. She looked at her shoes and observed in silence the start of a hole in one of the sides; she could have to buy new ones soon.

It was really hard for her to keep her eyes away from Regina though, and by the way the other woman always looked away when their eyes met, it looked like Regina was struggling with the same thing. After a moment, Emma felt the words bubbling up her throat and before she could think about it, she chocked out, "Why wouldn't you just talk to me?"

Regina whipped her head to look at her, tilting it to a side. "Why wouldn't you?"

"I'm not the one who owes an explanation," Emma bit back.

This time Regina glanced away and swallowed, "You wouldn't stop avoiding me. You were like a wall towards me."

"Me?" Emma almost exclaimed. "You were the cold one."

Their eyes met and Emma noticed a lot of emotion in Regina's dark coals like she had never seen before. "I'm your boss, Emma. What am I supposed to do? Go and hug you and say 'hey I'm happy to see you again' in front of everyone? What would that have said about my professionalism? I am expected to act as a superior and treat all my employees equally."

Emma blinked and could feel her heart in her throat. "Are you?"

"Of course I am. They offered me the job of the director, not one of the team," Regina rolled her eyes.

The blonde shook her head slightly. "Happy to see me again," she clarified softly.

It took a moment for Regina to register her slip as their gazes met halfway. The silence was almost unbearable by that point. Emma was about to ask again, wondering if maybe Regina hadn't heard her but ten the brunette took a deep breath and opened her mouth. Emma thought she would finally get an answer, feeling her heartbeat racing wildly, but right in that moment the elevator shook and the doors opened.

Two fire fighters appeared on the other side, in front of the building keeper who tried to take a look over their shoulders. "Are you okay, ladies?" one of them asked.

Regina looked up at them and immediately stood up, picking up her coat, "Thank god. I thought we would be stuck in there until Monday."

Emma rose to her feet too, following Regina out, half relieved for being free and half disappointed for the unanswered question. After the fire fighters checked everything was okay, they let them go and they walked together outside the building.

"So…" she started, trying to get back into the conversation.

Regina looked at her and her eyebrows furrowed, "I'm sorry. I really have to go pick up Henry." Emma sighed and nodded, not even bothering to cover her deception. To her surprise though, Regina added, "We'll talk on Monday. I promise."

"Like you promised a few weeks ago?" Emma asked arching an eyebrow and crossing her arms. She expected it to bother Regina even a little, but instead the other woman averted her gaze and called for a taxi.

"I hope you have a good birthday night. I'll see you on Monday, Miss Swan."

Emma watched her get into the cab and only looked away when the car wasn't visible in the traffic anymore. A lot of things had happened and her brain was still catching up with the mix of feelings that bubbled up in her chest. She walked home absently and only realised it when she reached her apartment.

"Ems!" Ruby greeted her when she opened the door. "I thought you wouldn't make it. Thank gods you did."

Emma saw her walking around the house, wearing her best underwear Emma knew she used when she wanted to hook up with someone, and carrying the hair dryer in one hand and the eyeliner in the other. Ruby stopped midway to the bathroom and looked at her with a grin. "C'mon. It's your big night!" Then she disappeared behind the bathroom door and Emma blinked.

She decided to let the conversation with Regina at a side for the moment, hoping she would at least enjoy that night. Ruby had promised a good party and Emma was looking forward it. If only to forget about the beautiful brunette that clouded her mind.

* * *

Emma had to admit Ruby did know how to throw parties. Although they were only six, they had had an amazing night. Mary Margaret and David had been fooling around all night while Ruby often danced with Peter, so that left Emma with Ruby's friend Mulan. They had hit it off right away.

"Mulan?" Emma had asked when they were introduced to each other. "As in Disney's Mulan?"

"Yes," the other girl rolled her eyes. " It's actually a common name in Asia. It makes a reference to magnolias."

"The flowers?" Mulan nodded and Emma smirked, "I still prefer the saviour of China."

The party had finished early in the morning and they had gone to have breakfast together before parting ways and heading home. When Emma fell on the bed, she almost felt her body sighing in relief and the next thing she knew was that it was 3 in the afternoon. She hadn't partied that hard in a long time, but she admitted she needed a night like that to let go even if it was for a few hours. She took the rest of the weekend to get some rest and she took that chance to catch up with her favourite shows.

When Monday arrived, Emma tried to hold back her impatience about the day. Regina had promised they would talk and, even if she didn't trust a lot in her promises, Emma couldn't help but look forward whatever she would tell her.

That time she avoided the elevator and took the stairs; her floor was up in the building, but she preferred getting a little of work out than to get stuck in the elevator again, this time with a lot of other workers that took it every morning. When she finally reached her floor, her heart was beating fast, both from anticipation and the exercise, but as she arrived to her desk she didn't see Regina anywhere.

What she saw were the new chairs behind every desk. They looked far more comfortable than the ones they had before and when Emma took a seat she confirmed it. It was a big difference and she smiled against her will. She pulled out her laptop and when she was about to put in on the desk, she noticed a post it there.

She picked it up and read.  _I hope these chairs are fairer to your back._  Emma's smile grew and she felt butterflies in her stomach. However, she forced herself to calm down and not get her hopes high. Regina still had some explaining to do and Emma still had to forgive her.

"Nice chairs, huh?" David said when he arrived. "Looks like your prayers were heard."

Emma turned in the chair and leaned back, "I'm not saying you have to thank me, but you have to thank me. With a good nice coffee would be good."

He laughed as he pulled out his laptop, "You know how to take advantage of every situation, you know?"

"Of course I know," she grinned. "That's why I get the best projects."

"Ouch," he grimaced. "Low blow. That coffee might be in danger…"

She rolled her chair closer to his desk and leaned her arm on it. "But that's why I always choose you to work with me. Because I choose the best."

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Nice save. I'll give you a coffee for that."

Emma came back to her desk and saw she had a new e-mail. She opened before she could read who sent it, thinking maybe it would be Regina, but it was Ruby.

_You also have the new chairs? I might be sitting in heaven!_

Emma ignored the disappointment she felt and send another e-mail back.

**You do know you shouldn't use the company's e-mail to chat, right?**

_You turn 25 and suddenly you're a killjoy. Way to go, Swan._

**Thanks for the compliment, good friend. By the way, I have to tell you something.**

_Spill it out!_

**You're crazy if you think I'm going to tell you by the corporate e-mail.**

_Oooooh is it about the certain girl on your mind?_

Emma was writing a response to Ruby, telling her to shut up in case any of the superiors ever read the e-mails, when another one came in. She thought it would be Ruby insisting, but her heart skipped a beat when this time she read the sender.

**From:** Regina Mills (rmillscreative thero.co)

**To:** Emma Swan (emmaswanteam thero.co)

**Subject:** Furniture

_Are they good enough?_

* * *

Emma imagined Regina sitting on her desk in her big office, by herself, staring at the laptop trying to figure out what to write only to end up typing a 4 words question. She tried not to find it cute, but it was really hard not to.

* * *

**From:** Emma Swan (emmaswanteam thero.co)

**To:** Regina Mills (rmillscreative thero.co)

**Subject:** Re: Furniture

_My back is sighing happily. I think it is trying to say thank you._

* * *

The answer took a few minutes to arrive, but as soon as it did, Emma clicked on it to read it.

* * *

**From:** Regina Mills (rmillscreative thero.co)

**To:** Emma Swan (emmaswanteam thero.co)

**Subject:** Re: Furniture and meeting?

_I'll take it as one and I'll say you're welcome. Do you think you have a break?_

* * *

Emma was about to type positive when one of her work mates called for her. He had messed it up with a project and asked her for help. Emma could not say no and sat with him and a few more of the team to work on it, only stopping to send Regina a quick answer.

* * *

**From:** Emma Swan (emmaswanteam thero.co)

**To:** Regina Mills (rmillscreative thero.co)

**Subject:** Re: Furniture and meeting?

_I think I'll only have lunch free. There is trouble going on down here._

* * *

**From:** Regina Mills (rmillscreative thero.co)

**To:** Emma Swan (emmaswanteam thero.co)

**Subject:** Re: Furniture and meeting?

_I was just informed about it. Is lunch good with you?_

* * *

Emma was so into the project she only read the e-mail a while later, and when she did she had to read it three more times to check that indeed Regina was asking her for lunch. Another mail came in and Emma clicked on it before answering Regina. It was Ruby asking her about what she had to tell her, something she had completely forgotten about. Emma quickly answered her, telling her they would talk later and that she couldn't go to have lunch with her, and then came back to Regina's e-mail.

* * *

**From:** Emma Swan (emmaswanteam thero.co)

**To:** Regina Mills (rmillscreative thero.co)

**Subject:** Re: Furniture and meeting?

_Sounds ok. Around 14:30?_

* * *

**From:** Regina Mills (rmillscreative thero.co)

**To:** Emma Swan (emmaswanteam thero.co)

**Subject:** Re: Furniture and meeting?

_OK. You better fix Pablo's mess._

* * *

Emma didn't know if Regina was joking or if she was serious; she was her boss after all. Whatever it was, it made Emma smile and wonder what would happen at lunch.


	9. Chapter 9

Emma was nose deep into her laptop with her earphones on to keep her focused. That's why she jumped on her seat when she felt a pair of eyes looking at her from above and glanced up only to meet Regina's chocolate eyes.

"Regina," she exhaled, trying to calm her heartbeat.

The other woman arched an eyebrow as she eyed her messy desk. "It's 14:30," she just said, expecting for it to explain enough. Emma looked down at the clock and realised it was indeed past that time. She had been so into work she hadn't noticed it. "Are you too busy or…?" Regina started, but Emma shook her head.

"No, it's fine. Let me just get my wallet." She reached for her bag and, after making sure everything she had done was saved, she stood up. They walked to the hall and Emma headed towards the stairs, but Regina stopped at the elevators to press the button. "You're getting in there? Are you not afraid of getting stuck again?" the blonde asked.

Regina turned and shrugged slightly, "Everyone is working now, so I don't think it's crowded. I don't mind getting stuck with you; I do mind when it's sweaty Stan."

Emma was stunned both by the joke and the compliment and couldn't help the blush on her cheek as they made their way into the elevator. She made a mental note about it, but she let it slide for now. "Well, I took the stairs in the morning. Might not do it again though," she chuckled.

"Impressive," Regina commented. "Although not surprising. It's clear you're fit. However stairs do not pair with high heels so that leaves me with the elevator or feet wounds."

"Sounds painful," Emma answered almost automatically, her mind still going around the fact that Regina had not only complimented her once, but twice. Before she could register it, they were out of the elevator and walking outside.

"You have no idea," Regina said pulling her out of her thoughts. "I don't know where you usually get lunch, but I know a place nearby."

There was an unsaid question and Emma nodded, "Sure." She followed Regina down the street in silence, but she was thankful the restaurant wasn't far away when the other woman stopped in front of it a minute later.

Regina opened the door and let Emma in before entering herself, while the blonde eyed the place. It looked fancy but informal at the same time. The kind of place where executives went to have lunch, very different from the café she used to go. The menu was also different and it lacked of Emma's usual types of lunch, but she was happy to find they at least had grilled chicken with fries, but she realised she probably didn't have too much time to have lunch left.

"Uh do you think there's something that's made fast here?" Emma asked, leaning to talk lowly so only Regina heard her.

"It's okay; you can take your time. I'm your boss and I give you permission."

Emma frowned and looked at her, leaning an arm on the stool. "You know, you should stop reminding me you're my boss. It's weird."

Regina hung her head, "How is it weird?"

However, Emma didn't answer and turned to order the grilled chicken dish. "What do you want?" she asked Regina, looking at her. The brunette blinked at her and ordered the same but with a side salad instead of fries. After paying for it, she guided Emma to a table by the window, where they took a seat across each other.

Emma looked down at the cutlery and fixed it in silence, wondering what to say next. She felt Regina's eyes on her and when she looked up she met those eyes that were scrutinizing her.

"You must think I owe you an explanation, don't you?" Regina asked, surprising Emma.

"You don't think so?" she counter asked, raising an eyebrow. She was not expecting Regina to admit it, so it took her aback when the other woman nodded and leaned forward.

"You're right," she confirmed. "I don't know what you're thinking, probably I shouldn't want to know, but the truth is simpler than you might think."

"Is it?" Emma asked crossing her arms.

Regina opened her mouth, but a waiter appeared to give them their order along with the drinks. She took her time, filling her glass of water and taking a sip. "Do you remember the cake we had?" Emma nodded while she cut a slice of her chicken. "Well, turns out Henry doesn't hold that much chocolate on one sit. Shortly after I put him to bed he woke me up because he was feeling sick before he started throwing it all up. It was late and he was pale, so I picked everything up quickly and drove him to the city's hospital. When he finally was sleeping on a stretcher, I realised I didn't have your phone number to tell you about it."

Out of all the explanations Emma had imagined, that definitely wasn't one of them. Still, there was still something that bothered her and it must have reflected in her face because Regina continued, "I thought he would pass out for dehydration. I didn't have time to leave any message either. I could only think to get him to a hospital as soon as I could."

"I'm sorry," Emma murmured when she saw Regina's expression, probably reliving that moment. "Is he okay?"

"Yes," Regina said, recovering from the memory. "I don't think he'll ever want to try a three chocolate cake again."

"Poor kid, he's going to miss a delightful meal," Emma sighed dramatically, making Regina smile, and she realised how much she had missed that.

"Anyways, I'm sorry for that," Regina apologised. "After that we moved in here and Henry started school. It was all a little hectic. I still had a few weeks of vacations but it didn't feel like that at all."

"Sounds kind of stressing," Emma admitted. Regina only nodded and took another bite of her meal. "It's kind of like a movie thing that you ended up working in the same place as I."

Regina smirked and raised an eyebrow, "Sounds almost like fate."

Emma rolled her eyes, "Okay, you win this round." She smiled when Regina's grin grew a little. "So you, an expert on fate, what does it mean?"

She didn't know if it had been a reflection of the sun in the window, or maybe a light coming from somewhere, but Emma swore she saw a glint in Regina's eyes when she looked at her.

"I guess we'll have to figure it out," she said mysteriously. "Are you finished?"

Emma looked down at her plate and nodded, "Yeah."

"Then let's go. I wouldn't want to keep you from finishing your work," Regina smiled as she rose to her feet. Emma followed her and felt her heartbeat racing but she couldn't quite tell what was happening.

They were coming back into the elevator when she turned to Regina. "I'm sorry for giving you the silent treatment."

"It's okay," Regina smiled. "You had your reasons. I only hope that knowing what happened means we're good now."

"Yes. I'm okay."

"Good," Regina nodded. "It's better to have a good relationship if we're working together."

Emma tried to not let the disappointment show in her face, but she glanced away just in case it did. "Work, of course." The elevator reached her floor and Emma walked out after saying goodbye, but before she could walk away, Regina called for her, making her turn in her heels.

"Emma."

"Yeah?"

"I am happy to see you again."

The door closed, not letting Emma answer that, but it's not like if she could say anything right now. She stood for a moment, staring at the closed doors in front of her as those words echoed in her mind. She had seen that glint in Regina's eyes and that time she was sure it had happened.

There were a lot of things going on in her mind, from Regina's explanation, to the compliments and to that last sentence. Regina kept reminding her she was her boss, but at the same time she kept flirting with her. Or maybe she wasn't and it was just Emma's imagination.

"Hey Emma, there you are," some said behind her. She turned and saw David walking towards her. "Pablo's looking for you. You really are his guardian angel." She shook her head and tried to forget about Regina for now. Like if it was that easy.

* * *

Ruby went up to her floor to wait for her to finish—because she miraculously had finished in time—so Emma gathered her belongings and rushed to go with her friend, eager to tell her everything.

"You left me mid conversation all day! You better have some juicy gossip or I'm killing you," she threatened as they called the elevator by pressing the button.

"So much for violence?" Emma laughed. "I can assure you, it's juicy enough."

"Yes!" Ruby exclaimed. "Tell me everything."

"Good evening," they heard behind them. The two girls turned to see Regina press the other button of the elevator. "I suppose you're going down?"

Emma chocked on her own saliva and Ruby went to help her, but she raised a hand to let her know she was okay. "Yes," she croaked out.

Regina nodded and entered it when it arrived, but Emma caught a glimpse of a tiny smirk before the door closed. Ruby looked in between them and placed her hands on her waist. "Okay. What the hell was that and what are you not telling me?"

"You want the long or the short version?" Emma asked, her voice still raspy.

* * *

"I can't believe you waited for so long to tell me something like this," Ruby whispered with wide eyes. "That's why you acted like that when we were leaving?"

Emma shrugged, "I don't know what's happening if I'm honest. Like you saw that, she was fucking smirking because she  _knew._ And she said I'm fit and that she wouldn't mind getting stuck in an elevator with me. But then she keeps sending me these mixed signals."

Ruby lounged back in the couch and crossed her legs, "Now that she has a totally acceptable excuse—because she does, right?" Emma nodded and Ruby went on, "Then now we know she didn't leave because she didn't want anything with you. I mean with everything you have told me I think it's safe enough to say she wants to get in your pants."

"Ruby," Emma rolled her eyes.

"But she does!" her friend retorted. "Maybe she wants more, who knows, but at least I'd confirm that."

"You're just saying what I need to hear," Emma sighed as she stood up to get another beer. Ruby stood up too and followed her into the kitchen.

"I'm saying what I think, but if you're not sure, maybe you can wait to see how it goes from now on?"

Emma popped open the bottle and took a sip. "Yeah, I was thinking about doing that."

"And you could accelerate things up," Ruby added wriggling her eyebrows. "You know the kid? You can ask about him and I don't know, maybe offer to go play with him or something."

"Ruby, I'm not using a kid to flirt," Emma deadpanned.

"I'm not telling you to  _use_ him!" Ruby rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying you like him right? You get along with him and she happens to like that."

Emma bit her lip and frowned. She actually liked the idea of seeing Henry again, he was a good kid and she kind of missed him, and she wondered if Regina would be okay with that. While she thought about the possibility of it happening, Ruby smirked next to her.

"You're thinking about it, aren't you?"

"Let's see how it goes tomorrow and we'll see."

Ruby raised her fist in the air, but then pointed at Emma, "This time, don't take so long to tell about it, okay?"

Emma raised her hands in defeat and nodded, "You have my word."

* * *

The difference was evident and Emma could see it. The next morning when they met in the elevator, Regina smiled at her and asked her how she was, which was a lot more that they talked before. However, Emma let the course of life flow and waited to see how it kept going without forcing it out.

It was a week later when she arrived at her desk, her eyes still sleepy, that she saw a bouquet of flowers waiting for her. Emma looked around, wondering if it was some kind of a joke and she would be electrocuted once she touched the flowers, but the office was still half empty and the only souls around were as sleepy as she was.

She approached the bouquet and eyed it to find a card hiding beneath one of the flowers. Emma reached for it as she left her bag on her chair and opened the small envelope. Inside there was a card with a note written on it that prayed:  _I know it's a week late, but I still hope you had a happy birthday._

The handwriting was familiar to her and she was trying to remember where she had seen it before when she opened one of the folders that was waiting for her on her desk too and saw the same handwriting there next to Regina's signature. Emma looked around her again to make sure no one was paying attention to her and she put the bouquet beneath her desk before she sat on her chair.

She stared at it, deciding what to do while her heartbeat thrummed in her ears. "Okay," she told herself. "So she went from being nice to give me flowers. Totally normal." The flowers seemed to glare at her and she sighed, "Okay, maybe not  _that_ normal."

She pulled out her phone and quickly texted Ruby the news, keeping her promise of keeping her informed. In less than a minute, the response came in and she wasn't surprised to see the text had a bunch of exclamation marks on it. Emma's eyes fell on the bouquet again and nodded to herself.

"I should probably thank her," she said out loud. "It's a nice detail after all. She's nice."

"Who's nice?"

Emma jumped on her chair and looked up to find David looking down at her with a worried expression. "Uh, the cleaning man. He cleaned my trash can."

"He didn't do it before?" David wondered, the furrow on his face still not quite gone. "You must have pissed him off about something."

"Well, he's not pissed anymore," Emma laughed a little nervously. "Anyways, I should get to work."

This time David smiled and grabbed his backpack's strap, "That's the spirit. I'm gonna get some coffee. Want one?"

Emma nodded and watched him go before she glanced down at the flowers. "Okay, coffee first. Thank you later."

* * *

Emma stood in front of Regina's door. There was a sign announcing her position and beneath it the name in shiny gold. She was carrying a folder to have an excuse to go up to her office, but even with that back up plan, she could still feel her hands slightly trembling. It is stupid, Emma thought, I'll just say thank you and that's it, no big deal. But her mind kept telling her that it was a big deal because she was having trouble keeping out of her mind the idea of asking her out.

"Fine, it's fine," she whispered. Emma took a breath and raised her hand to knock twice.

"Come in," she heard from inside.

Emma turned the doorknob and peaked her head inside, wearing her most polite smile, "Hey, hope I don't catch you too busy?"

Regina glanced up from the files laid out on her desk and flashed at smile at her. "Not at all. What is it?"

Emma fully entered the room, closing the door behind her and raising the folder she was carrying. "I wanted to run by you a few things about the Muse project before we go on."

"Of course," Regina pointed at the chairs in front of her desk and Emma took the invitation to take a seat there.

She opened the folder and Regina leaned in to take a better look, but before they began, Emma chocked out, "Thanks for the flowers, by the way. Not my style, but it was nice."

Regina raised both eyebrows, her eyes meeting Emma's. "And what's your style?"

"Uh…" Emma mumbled. She hadn't expected to elaborate on it but now she found herself without really knowing how to answer. "I don't know, burgers or something?"

This time Regina laughed softly and nodded, "I'll take note to take you out for lunch next time. Perhaps you would have liked better a Happy Meal?"

"Ha, ha," Emma rolled her eyes, feeling calmer but not letting the lunch offer go unnoticed. "By the way, how's Henry? Is he adapting?"

"Yes, he's doing fine as much as you can tell from a lonely kid. He has met a few other kids, but I fear his socializing problems become bigger as he grows up," Regina confessed with a frown.

Emma bit her lip and held back from reaching for Regina's hand. "He'll be fine. Actually, I was wondering if you would be okay if I see him? Maybe it's a little weird," she laughed.

Regina's furrow transformed into a smile when her eyes met Emma's again, "I think he would love that. He doesn't know we work together yet because if I did I bet he would beg me to bring him with me." They laughed together because both of them knew it would totally happen and then Regina added, "I'll tell him this evening and I'll let you know."

"Cool," Emma smiled. She was lost for a minute in how radiant Regina's features seemed and only came back to the room when the other woman raised her eyebrows. "So I wanted to show you the idea for the campaign to get your ok."

Regina reached for the files and slid them towards her with a nod, "Let's see then."

* * *

"You used her son," Ruby accused while they had lunch.

"I did not."

"You did," she insisted.

Emma threw her a fry to her head and shook her head, "Shut up, I did not. Besides, that's what you told me to do. He just kind of came up in the conversation and it happened." Ruby arched an eyebrow at her, making Emma roll her eyes, "Whatever."

"So you're seeing him soon?"

Emma shrugged and took a big bite of her piece of pizza, "She said she would tell me so it's not assured yet."

"She bought you flowers and she is inviting you with her son. I think she wants a lot more than to get in your pants," she commented.

"Not that I'm complaining," Emma murmured behind her glass before she took a sip.

Ruby stopped the pizza midway to her mouth to look at her. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

"You said you want to have a relationship with someone. Like a real relationship with a kid and all that?" Ruby's eyes were opening wider and Emma started to fear for a squeal from her friend.

"No."

"I can't believe this!" she finally exclaimed.

Emma was ready to insist again but David and Mary Margaret appeared on their table. "What can't you believe?" she asked.

The blonde shook her head at her friend, trying to stop her from telling her secret, but Ruby was already beaming at them. "Emma has a serious crush on someone."

She would have face palmed if they weren't now looking at her with two pair of curious eyes. "Oh, who is it?" Mary Margaret asked, but her stomach rumbled and she grimaced. "Wait, let us order some food first and then you tell us everything!"

Emma waited until they were away enough to not hear them to turn to Ruby. "Why did you do that?"

"What? It's not like it's some big secret. It's all over your face," Ruby shrugged.

Emma closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath. "Okay, but don't tell them anything else. There isn't even anything to tell yet and I don't want to jinx it."

"They're not going to say anything, Ems. They're your friends," Ruby reminded her as she finished her piece of pizza.

"They are," Emma agreed. "But you know how Mary Margaret is with a secret."

"She's not that bad keeping secrets." Emma let her silence answer that and Ruby rolled her eyes and sighed, "Okay, relax. I won't say a word. Happy?"

Emma smiled and gave a nod, "Very. Thanks."

However, when they joined the girls, Emma and Ruby had already finished and had to come back to work, so they barely had time to chat about Emma's mystery love interest, much to her relief. She loved Ruby but when her friend got excited over anything it was impossible to keep her mouth shout. It was a good sign, Emma guessed. She couldn't deny Ruby was right though. Emma had a serious crush on Regina.

* * *

The days passed but Emma never heard anything from Henry. She was starting to believe that Regina had forgotten or maybe she had changed her mind. Or maybe Henry didn't want to see her. Whatever it was it hadn't affected Regina's relationship with Emma, because when they found each other in the hallways they kept talking as usual, and even a little flirtier than before Emma noticed.

It was Friday on the afternoon when Regina appeared in Emma's desk all of the sudden, startling her.

"Regina," she breathed when she noticed her.

"Miss Swan," she nodded curtly, aware of the people surrounding them. "Are you too busy at the moment?"

Emma glanced down at her laptop where she was finishing some reports, but she calculated she could still finish them on her weekend. It would be worth it if it was Regina who was asking. "No, I'm free. What is it?"

"May you come up with me to my office?"

Emma squinted her eyes at the lack of details, but she stood up and followed Regina to the elevator in silence. Once they were in, she couldn't hold it any longer. "What is it for?"

"You'll see," she just said.

"The mystery," Emma joked, making the curve of Regina's lips twitch in, probably because she knew something the blonde didn't.

When they arrived to the door, Regina held it open for her to enter and Emma didn't know what to expect but she certainly wasn't expecting to see Henry sitting on Regina's table with a pencil on his hand. He raised his head at the noise and beamed at Emma with a big grin. "Emma!" he exclaimed before jumping from the chair to run towards her.

He tackled her while Regina closed the door and stood at a side looking at them. Emma tousled his hair and laughed. "Hey kid. How are you? Someone told me you can't handle too much chocolate."

"Mom!" he whined looking at his mother. Regina shrugged innocently and he looked back up at Emma. "I'm okay. Doctor said I'm super strong."

He raised his arm, trying to look strong, and Emma took that chance to tickle him. "You may be strong but you're still ticklish!" What started in a giggle ended up in full laughter as Henry tried to get away from Emma's hands.

When he managed to get free, he ran to the desk and climbed up the chair, still too big for him. Emma stood next to Regina, looking at him, and the brunette leaned in. "He got out early from school and insisted I brought him here. It was last minute so sorry for not letting you know first."

"It's okay. It is good to see him," Emma smiled.

"I can tell he likes to see you too. Like mother, like son," she whispered.

Emma whipped her head to look at Regina, who was staring at her with a shy smile adorning her face. Before Emma could ask, Henry came back with them and tugged at Emma's jeans to make her look.

He lifted a drawing and pointed at a big dark form next to some sort of a vertical rectangle. "Look, a giant bat is coming to destroy this building," he explained. Then he pointed down at what Emma guessed that could be a woman, "And here's mom who is going to destroy the bat so it doesn't hurt the building."

"Your mom is quite a badass," Emma commented, looking up at Regina, who raised an eyebrow.

Next to her, Henry nodded vigorously, "Yeah, she is going to kill all the enemies with her magic pen."

"Magic pen?" Emma asked Regina with curiosity.

"I've told him my work is a lot about writing files and he decided to make it my weapon," she explained, drawing invisible air quotes on the last word.

"Emma d'you wanna go to the park? Mom I letting me fly my new kite," Henry asked when his mother finished.

Regina quickly looked at Emma and placed a hand on her arm, where Emma could fee it warmer now. "You don't have to go if you can't. Henry is kind of impulsive when it comes to you and doesn't think it through."

"No, it's fine," Emma heard herself talking; her focus was still on the spot on her arm where Regina still had her hand. "I have nothing else to do. But I should go down to my desk to pick up my things. Wanna come with me kid?"

"Yes!"

Emma glanced up at Regina and bit her lip, "Can he? I kind of did it without thinking if it was okay."

However, Regina offered a funny smile, "You two have a lot in common it seems. I'll be down in a minute to join you." She turned to Henry and looked down, "Listen to Emma, okay?" He nodded and ran out of the office with Emma following him to not lose sight of him. She was so worried about losing him she didn't notice Regina's warm smile as they looked at them go.

When they were on their desk, Emma pulled Henry up on her chair while she picked up her things and put them in her bag. Henry bounced one of the flowers Regina had given her, which Emma had chosen to put on her desk after a lot of thought. Much to her surprise, they had lived more than she expected, which was one day.

"So you have a new kite?" she asked to make small talk while she got everything ready.

He nodded absently, still looking at the flowers curiously. "Yeah, aunt Z gave it to me before she left. Mom didn't like it at first but she's finally lets me play with it."

Emma was about to ask who 'Aunt Z' was, but stopped when she realised she was being nosy. Luckily for her, Regina appeared in the elevator and held the door open for them to join her. Once inside, Henry's hand slid into Regina's as he looked up at her.

"Emma has a flower that looks like a dove," he deadpanned.

Regina tilted her head—in a very cute fashion, Emma thought—before it finally kicked in and she registered. "They are called Peristeria Elata, Henry. I got them for her birthday."

"It was your birthday?" he asked Emma, who nodded. "Was there cake?"

She laughed and shook her head, "There wasn't cake this time."

"Perhaps we should fix that with ice cream?" Regina proposed, making Henry's eyes almost shine.

"Yes!" he exclaimed as they made their way out of the elevator.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm running on a few hours of sleep so sorry for the language mistakes. Enjoy!

What Emma hadn't thought of was that Henry wasn't carrying the kite with him. She only registered that fact when Regina called for a taxi and gave the driver what Emma supposed that was her address. The ride was short, or at least she felt like it while they discussed which ice cream favour was the best.

When they arrived, Regina came out first, waiting outside for Henry who was the second, leaving Emma the last. She stalled to get the driver's change while mother and son went ahead and entered the building.

"For families like this is why I voted yes for same sex marriage," the driver's said while he handed her the change.

Emma opened her eyes wide and shook her head, "We're not…They…" She paused with a frown and then tilted her head, "Do we really look like a couple?"

"What?" The driver turned to look at her, but Emma waved her hand to dismiss it.

"Nevermind. Thanks!" she rushed out of the taxi under the driver's confused gaze and stood in front of a tall building.

She lived in a block of apartments. It's not like it was the most sophisticated but it was great. Regina's building, however, was all elegance and luxury, making it clear that she indeed had money. Emma whistled as she tilted her head backwards to look up the different floors, wondering which would be Regina's. They had gone up without her, so Emma couldn't do anything but to wait there, leaning on the wall.

Shortly after, Henry ran outside the building carrying a kite and Emma noticed his uniform had been replaced by more informal clothes. Following him, Regina emerged from the building still wearing the same pantsuit she had been wearing all day and those heels Emma doubted they were comfortable enough to go to the park.

Regina guided her to the park that was a block away from her house, where they found an ice cream truck waiting for them. While Henry gets a strawberry popsicle, Emma and Regina opted for a cone of vanilla and strawberry, respectively. While they ate their ice creams, they walked through the park to get to the field. There were bats and little ghosts hanging from the lampposts and they saw a few kids running around in costumes.

"The teacher brought us costumes today for us, but there was only one wand, so I had to pick an axe," Henry explained. "It had blood on it but the teacher told me it wasn't real, so it was okay," he shrugged and licked from his popsicle, trotting forward.

"He doesn't like blood," Regina explained Emma with a whisper.

"Not good for Halloween," the blonde pointed out.

"Or the doctor."

When they arrived to the field, they saw a free bench so they took a seat to finish their ice cream, but Henry got tired of his and gave it to Regina to be able to go play with the kite. After Regina cleaned his hands with a wet wipe, Henry took off carrying the kite behind him.

"To this day he still hasn't eaten a full popsicle," Regina confessed her. "He always gets tired of it before he's done."

"Why keep buying it then?" Emma wondered while they watched him from their seat.

Regina shrugged and left the popsicle wrapped in a wipe on her side, "He loves it nevertheless. At least while he is eating it."

"You're a good mom," Emma murmured before she could realise she was saying it out loud. She felt Regina turning to look at her, but Emma wasn't feeling confident enough to gaze back at her.

"Thank you," Regina said with a soft smile. "You would be a good one too."

"Already talking about raising a child? Better buy me dinner first and then we'll talk," Emma joked, making Regina chuckle.

"I'll take notes."

Emma could feel the warmth on her cheeks and hoped the reddish of her face wasn't as visible as she thought it was. Henry called for Regina from his spot to help him with the kite, and Emma remained sitting on the bench watching them playing with the kite. She found it was a beautiful sight to see Regina smiling at her son and laughing.

Regina lifted the kite and it flew high in the sky, but when she handed it to Henry it lowered and he pouted. He said something Emma couldn't hear and saw Regina turning to her and calling her with her hand. It took her a moment to realise she was being called but Emma finally stood up and walked closer to them.

"Do you think you could lift Henry a little? He wants the kite to fly higher and you have strong arms," Regina asked with a soft blush on her cheeks, probably for asking that.

However Emma smiled to let her know it was okay and nodded, mirroring Regina's red cheeks for the compliment, "Sure." She kneeled down and instructed Henry what he had to do to get on Emma's shoulders. He handed Regina the kite and followed Emma's instructions easily, giggling when Emma stood up, carrying him on her shoulders.

"Be careful, Henry," Regina reminded him with a worried tone. She didn't say, but Emma knew it was a warning for her too, so she grabbed Henry's legs tightly to hold him right.

"It's so high!" Henry exclaimed. "More high that you, mom!"

"It's higher, and I can see that. You can almost reach the stars." That made him wiggle excitedly on Emma's shoulders and Regina frowned, "Henry let's get you down. We don't want to break Emma's neck, do we?"

"Don't worry; he's like a feather," Emma assured, but still put him down so Regina didn't have to worry anymore. They played for a little longer, passing the kite on turns like Henry had told them so they all played with it.

When he grew bored of it, they pulled it back and headed back. Henry walked ahead, fighting with invisible monsters with an imaginary sword, while Emma and Regina walked arm to arm behind him. Emma was really trying not to think of their hands brushing against each other from time to time.

"Henry's got a lot of imagination," she commented.

Regina nodded in agreement, "He does. That's why I thought doing theatre would be good for him. He's having a play on Christmas and he's very excited about it."

"I bet," Emma smiled.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow for Halloween?" Regina asked all of the sudden.

It took Emma aback, but she did her best to recover as fast as she could. "Uh, I'm going out with Ruby and some friends to a party."

"Oh," Regina nodded, looking down.

She didn't elaborate but Emma felt bad about it and added, "You can come if you want."

"Thanks," Regina smiled politely. "But I don't think it's a good idea to go out with the company's employees."

"Hey, you're going out with me," Emma tried, but realised how it had sounded the moment she said it.

However, Regina smirked as she lowered her gaze, keeping an eye on her son. "I don't think I could anyway. Henry's got planned a full agenda that starts at 5 and ends at 7 and it involves a lot of walking and knocking on doors."

"That sounds fun," Emma admitted.

"I was actually going to ask you if you would like to come, but it would be too much tiring if you're going out later."

"No!" Emma said louder than she expected, making Regina look at her arching an eyebrow. "I mean, I can do both, if you still want me to come. Unless that counts as going out with an employee?"

Regina squinted her eyes for a moment and then shook her head, "It doesn't count if we're wearing costumes."

"Wait, you're wearing costumes? Now I'm not missing that," she laughed, but Regina raised a finger.

"If you come you have to get a costume too. He wouldn't let you come if you didn't; he takes it very seriously."

Emma raised her hands mockingly in defence and crossed her heart, "I will."

Regina rolled her eyes but a smile was peaking out the corned of her lips as they reached her building's door. Henry stopped next to her, still fighting with imaginary monsters. "I'll give you my number this time, in case you get lost getting here," Regina said, grabbing Henry's jacket hood to stop him to going too far away.

For Emma it was pretty easy to get there, she knew the city by heart, but she wasn't going to say that when she was –finally– getting Regina's number. She handed the other woman her phone for her to save it and gave herself a call to have Emma's number.

"Tomorrow at 5, don't forget," she reminded as she returned the phone.

Emma put it on her pocket and saluted, "Roger that." She grinned when Regina's smile grew and waved goodbye. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. Bye Henry!"

Henry looked up from his fight and paused to wave at her with a smile, "Bye Emma!"

She didn't get to see them enter the building, because she was already walking away, feeling the weight of her phone in her pocket. Emma had to stop herself from making a victorious gesture in case they saw her but on the inside she was screaming from joy.

* * *

At 5 pm sharp, Emma arrived to Regina's building running out of breath. They were already waiting for her, but she hadn't recognised them in their costumes. She leaned on her knees to catch a breath when she heard Henry.

"Finally! Let's start."

Emma lifted her gaze and finally registered the little Harry Potter and what looked like a princess. She took in the woman's appearance and swallowed at the sight of Regina in leather pants. "Sorry, the train was delayed."

"Don't worry," she said pursing her lips to hold back the laughter at Emma's costume. Henry tugged at Regina's hand and she looked down. "Henry, relax. There will still be candy for you."

He slouched his shoulders pouted next to her, stopping the tugging. They started walking to follow the map Regina was carrying and apparently Henry had drawn. "Nice costume, Sheriff," she joked as they made their way down the street.

"I'm a cowboy, not a Sheriff, princess," Emma corrected her dipping her head and touching her hat.

"Queen, not princess," Regina pointed out. "The Evil one, may I add."

Emma's eyebrows raised in realization. "Oh, now I get the dark vibe. Nice. You look good, my majesty."

Regina smirked and tilted her head. "You don't look too bad yourself,  _cowgirl._ "

Later, Emma would thank her brain for keeping her legs moving although all of her had almost melted at how Regina had said that word. She wasn't aware that Regina could make a simple word sound so dirty, but at the same time she wasn't surprised.

In front of them, Henry turned to look at them. "Door 1," he announced before fixing the fake glasses on his nose. He knocked on the door but Emma was still focused of keeping down the red on her cheeks.

She reacted in time though when the door opened and the three of them sang happily, "Tick or treat!"

* * *

They were at a diner, sitting next to a big window from where they could see other kids running around like they had done just moments ago. Henry picked up the menu and eyed it before turning to his mother and give her the best puppy eyes.

"Mom, can I get a milkshake? Please?"

Regina tried to refuse, but in the end decided it would be okay. "Okay, but the small size, okay?" Henry grinned and nodded excitedly and brought up his pumpkin bag to turn it and count the candy he had gotten. "What do you want?" Regina asked Emma, raising her gaze. "I'm getting a coffee."

"Coffee?" Emma wondered with a tilt of head.

Regina leaned forward and whispered behind her hand, "He's staying up longer than I can manage."

"Make it two then. I have to stay up too," Emma agreed softly laughing. The waitress arrived and after taking the order, they made the count together while they waited.

They discussed the evening, talking about the different people they had encountered behind the doors. They also laughed about the one that refused to give them candy so they had covered his door in toilet paper quickly before he realised. Time flew as they laughed and when Emma realised, she was already late.

"Shit, I gotta go," she murmured. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry," Regina smiled. "It was a pleasure to have you with us in our candy hunt, right Henry?"

He nodded next to her while he beamed at Emma. "Yes! It was awesome."

"I'll see you soon; I have to come and pick up my piece of the treasure." Henry gasped and was about to protest to his mother when Emma laughed, "Just kidding. I'm leaving you two my part."

She fist bumped Henry as she left the booth and then stood next to Regina, kind of awkwardly not knowing how to say goodbye. Then, without really thinking, she bowed theatrically, "Your Majesty."

Regina pushed her playfully and laughed, "Go! You're going to be late."

Emma grinned widely at them and waved goodbye before rushing out of the diner. She headed towards the subway, hoping Ruby wouldn't notice she hadn't appeared there yet. She quickly arrive at the club and found them outside waiting for her, so after the hello's, they headed inside. They were wearing all various costumes, from a wolf (Ruby) to Snow White (Mary Margaret).

After taking a few shots to warm up the night, Ruby and Peter left them, offering a dance with Belle, from Human Resources, between them. Emma leaned on the counter and ordered a beer to keep it low for the night. Mulan landed by her side and nidged her shoulder. "Nice costume, Sheriff."

"I'm not a Sheriff," she rolled her eyes. "But thanks. You're like a badass Mulan?"

"No, I'm Elektra. Do you not watch TV?"

"Actually, I don't," Emma laughed. She watched the trio on the dance floor, dancing close to each other and nodded towards them, "Ruby has been after Belle for a long time. I can't believe she finally gets the girl."

"And the boy," Mulan added. "Lucky girl."

"You're into polyamorous relationships?" Emma asked looking at her.

Mulan shook her head and laughed, "I have enough of a hard time to find a girlfriend, don't get me started on two."

Emma raised her glass and nodded seriously, "Same." She took a sip and pulled out her phone, already feeling the buzz of the shots. She searched for Regina's number and wrote.

**How's hurricane Henry?**

The answer didn't take long to arrive.  _Category 4 and up._

Emma frowned and looked up to ask Mulan, "Do you know what is category 4 on hurricanes?"

Mulan tilted her head and looked at her like if she had grown 2 heads, "What?"

"Nevermind." Emma shook her head and typed anyways.  **That sounds strong I think? I hope he lets you sleep.**

 _I hope that to._  Emma didn't really know what to answer to that, but luckily Regina sent another one seconds later.  _Now leave your phone and have fun, Sheriff!_

Emma smiled at the phone and rolled her eyes before putting it back into her pocket. She grabbed her beer and took another sip, leaning closer to Mulan. "You know, if I'm honest last time we met I was a little drunk and don't remember much of what we talked about."

"If I'm honest I don't either," Mulan said loudly to be heard over the music. "I only know you work with Ruby and the rest."

"Yeah," Emma nodded. "I am part of the team that creates the advertising campaigns. What about you?"

"I own an art gallery."

"You do?" Emma asked with surprise. "Do you paint or something?"

Mulan nodded as she finished her own beer. "Yes, and I take photos too. It's a little of everthing."

"That's cool. I'd like to see it one day," Emma offered.

"I don't have much of a collection right now," Mulan explained. "Lately I've been focusing on doing sports because I don't have the inspiration."

"That sucks," Emma agreed; she knew what it was like to try to come up with something but come up with nothing instead. "But hey, what do you do? Because I've been looking for a sport to do but I haven't really tried anything."

"I play soccer two days a week with a group of girls at the park," Mulan shrugged. "It's not like professional, only to have fun. You could come some day with me if you want. They'll love to have another one in the team."

"I'm going to take your word for that," Emma said pointing at her with her beer. "But now, wanna dance?"

"Sure!" Mulan nodded before they joined the rest of people on the dance floor.

That night Emma felt an energy she hadn't felt in a long time. The progress with Regina made her feel good, hopeful and for the first time in a long time she couldn't wait for Monday to come.

They dance until the club closed and then walked to the nearest subway station. Emma caught Ruby and walked with her before they parted ways to tell her the latest news about her "case".

"Ask her out!" Ruby exclaimed. "She's practically throwing herself over you. Ask her out."

"It's not that simple, Rubes."

Ruby's eyebrows raised and she rolled her eyes, "It is, but you always look for the complication. Enjoy for once Ems. Life is treating you good. Take your chance; you deserve it."

They arrived to Emma's station, the first one, and Ruby kissed her cheek as a goodbye before pointing at her with her finger, "Take a chance, Ems!"

Emma laughed and nodded, "I'll try, Rubes. I'll try."

* * *

Although Emma was eager for Monday to arrive, it did too early. She was on her way to work when David texted her that the coffee machine was broken so she stopped to but some cups on the way there. However, there was a big queue at the café and when Emma rushed into 's building she was 15 minutes late.

When she arrived at her floor, she went to David's desk first to give him his coffee. "Thanks," he smiled gratefully. "By the way, is Mulan the girl you're crushing on?"

"What?" Emma reacted. "No!".

He closed his fist and hissed, "Yes. I knew it! MM owes me 5 bucks."

Emma blinked at him before raising an eyebrow and put a hand on her waist. "You made a bet about that?"

David looked up at her and took a sip of his warm coffee, "Hear that? Is the large amount of work I have to get done by noon." He turned to his laptop and Emma rolled her eyes, heading to her own desk.

She left the coffee there and was about to pull out her laptop when she noticed a small gummy burger waiting for her. She took a seat and picked up, seeing the envelope beneath the candy. She had a feeling about who it was from, but she still quickly opened the envelope to reveal a small card saying:  _I hope this is more your style._

Emma smiled at the little gift and didn't even try to stop the butterflies on her stomach, accepting her feelings. She texted her friend about it and only got a response from Ruby: "Ask her out or I will!" The idea stuck in Emma's mind and she gave it a thought during the whole day.

She was deep in thought about that when she made a turn and almost crashed into someone if they hadn't dodged her. Regina looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "That thing you're thinking must be important to make you not look where you step," she teased.

"It actually is," Emma mysteriously said. "By the way, thanks for the candy. It was almost as good as a real burger."

"Liar," Regina said narrowing her eyes. "I must inform you it is from Henry's Halloween treasure, so I hope you appreciate it."

"Oh, I do," Emma assured. Regina nodded with a smile and started to walk away, but Emma stopped her in an impulse. "Regina?"

"Hm?" she asked turning around.

"Do you…" Emma tried, fumbling with her words. "Would you…uhm…what I'm trying to say it's…I mean."

"Yes."

"Yes?" Emma blinked. "Do you even know what I was going to say?"

Regina smiled at her, staring into her eyes, "Yes, Emma. I'll go on a date with you. Is Thursday night okay with you?"

"Uh, sure. How about 8?" Emma asked still not quite believing it. It was like if she was seeing the scene from outsider, like in a movie.

"8 is perfect," Regina conceded with a nod.

"Cool. I mean great," Emma stammered.

"Cool," Regina imitated her as her smile grew wider. "Have a nice evening, Emma."

Before Emma could register what had happened, Regina disappeared down the hall. Only then, the whole conversation hit her and, now that she was alone, Emma jumped and raised her fist. Then she realised there were probably cameras around there so she stopped. It was hard though to try to hide her excitement during the rest of the day. Or the week.


	11. Chapter 11

Luckily for Emma, the park where Mulan told her to go was close to her apartment, so she had to walk a couple of blocks to find it. With music blasting from her headphones, Emma walked across the park, her mind far away as she wondered how the date would go. Was she supposed to look for a place to have dinner or Regina had already one in mind? Would it be formal or not?

All these questions were going over her head when she saw a group of girls playing around in one of the fields. She recognised Mulan from afar, so she walked closer and took off her headphones. Mulan raised her head and, when she saw her, she approached, running towards her.

"Hey, Emma. You made it!" she said as she hugged Emma.

The blonde hugged back and eyed the group of girls that were playing around with a ball. "Yeah. I hope I'm not late though."

Mulan followed her gaze and waved her hand with a shake of head, "Nah, don't worry. We're just warming up. You can leave your bag over there and join us when you want."

After pointing at a bench where a few bags were piled up, Mulan ran off with the rest of the group, catching the ball when one of them threw it towards her. Emma followed her instructions and took a deep breath while she put her phone and headphones inside her bag.

She was already a grown up and all that, but she still got nervous when meeting new people, especially when they were a group that already knew each other. She thought it was maybe because she was used to being judged in the wrong way in her past, with the foster families. However it was, she sighed and headed with the rest of the girls.

"Girls, this is Emma. Ruby's friend I told you guys about," Mulan introduced her when she arrived. All of them smiled at her and introduced themselves with names Emma wasn't sure she would remember in 5 minutes.

After that, Emma joined them in the warm-up, easily fitting in with the group. When the first wave of nerves vanished, Emma was feeling a lot better. They played a match and, although she hadn't played in a long time, she enjoyed it like she hadn't thought she would.

By the time they finished, she was feeling tired, but in a good way. After they said goodbye, Mulan and Emma walked together since Mulan's subway station was close to the blonde's house.

"If I had known you played like that I would have chosen you on my team," Mulan said nudging her arm.

Emma laughed and shrugged, "Actually I hadn't played soccer since I was in high school. I'm a bit off my game."

"Didn't look like it," Mulan pointed out. "We're hanging out on Thursday this week."

"Thursday?" Emma asked. When the other girl nodded, she frowned. "Shucks, I can't this Thursday. I have a date."

"Oooh, a date?" Mulan raised an eyebrow at her. "Am I going to be the only single in the group?"

"It's nothing sure yet though."

"How so?" Mulan asked as they turned on a corner.

Emma shrugged. "I like her a lot and I think she likes me but there are other things in the mix that makes it complicated."

"If you like each other, you'll work through it," she encouraged Emma. "But hey, you can always have alcohol when life doesn't go your way right?"

"Amen," Emma laughed. They arrived at the subway entrance and Mulan turned to hug her goodbye. "Thanks for inviting me. I may not be coming this Thursday but I'll sure be there next week."

"Cool," Mulan smiled. "Good luck with your date!"

"Thanks!" Emma yelled over the hustle. She waved goodbye and turned to walk to her apartment, pulling out the headphones from her bag. On the way she tried to think about the projects she was working on, but Regina kept popping in her mind over and over. And she still had to wait for another two days until they had the date.

* * *

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Ruby asked Emma leaning on her desk. The blonde was still gathering her belongings to leave while her friend waited for her.

"I made a reservation at that delicious thai, you know which one?"

"I know which one." Ruby smirked and wiggled her eyebrows, "You're going big Emma Swan. You only take there important people."

Emma laughed as she picked up her bag, "I only take you there."

"And I am important. Plus, I know how much you like it. You're taking it seriously," Ruby whispered as they made their way to the elevator.

"Well, you know what they say," Emma said pressing the button. "Go big or go home, right?"

"I hope you're going big," Emma heard from behind. Regina smiled at her from inside the elevator. The brunette walked out and dipped her head as a greeting before adding, "In those projects you're working on, I mean."

"Of course," Emma murmured while she felt her face going red from the embarrassment. Regina dedicated them one last smile before walking away and when Emma turned she saw Ruby's giant smirk.

"God, you two need to get a room!" she exclaimed as lowly as she could as they made their way into the elevator.

Emma just sighed and felt her blush coming down to normal. "Remind me to present a complaint on silent elevators. They need to have a sound to stop me from embarrassing myself."

Ruby rolled her eyes and shook her head. "If you did she would have cancelled the date, so shut up and let's talk about what you're going to wear."

"Why do you think I'm inviting you to my place?"

"It wasn't for my great company?" Ruby asked, placing a hand on her chest mockingly. "That hurt."

Emma laughed. "Would a beer make up for it?"

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Make it two and we'll talk."

* * *

"Do you have anything that is not tight jeans?" Ruby exhaled head deep into her closet.

From the bed, Emma took a sip from her beer and shook her head. "I don't know. I haven't had a proper date in ages."

Ruby stepped back and glanced over at Emma with a hand on her hip, "Yeah, you are more like wham, bam, thank you ma'am."

"Hey!" Emma protested pointing at her with the bottle. "I made sure they enjoyed it too."

"Okay, miss daddy," Ruby rolled her eyes, turning back to the closet. "But there has to be something in here with you. I mean I'd swear I've seen you with a dress before. Red maybe?"

Emma narrowed her eyes to remember where she had left that dress. It had been ages since she wore it and wasn't sure if it still fit, but it was worth a chance. She jumped from the bed and rose to her toes to reach a box on top of the closet. Inside the box, she found the red dress that had been her favourite.

"You know you have to keep the dresses hanging on the closet and not in boxes, right?" Ruby asked raising the dress. "Especially if it's this great dress."

She laid it on the bed and both of them watched it. "I'm not sure it still fits," Emma said with a frown.

"Let's find out then!" Ruby grabbed the dress and threw it to Emma before pushing her into the bathroom. "I'll be waiting outsider. Hope you don't mind if I get some chips," she yelled already in the kitchen.

Inside the bathroom, Emma put the dress on and discovered, gladly, that it still fit perfectly. She checked herself in the mirror before going out and receiving a whistle from Ruby. "That's my girl," she howled.

"You really think this is appropriate?" Emma still asked, taking another look at herself in the mirror. She looked good in it, she could see that, but going all red on their first date maybe wasn't the best idea.

Her friend, however, didn't agree with her. "Of course. You can't go wrong with red." Ruby stood up and fished a black leather jacket before helping Emma to put it on. "There, now it has the Emma Swan's touch."

"My touch is a leather jacket?" Emma laughed and Ruby looked at her pointedly. "Okay, maybe. So this is it, right?"

"Yes! Now we have to move onto hair and make up." Ruby took a seat on the bed and looked up at her friend, "What did you have in mind?"

"Uh, nothing really. I thought I could put some mascara and a nice lipstick," Emma shrugged. "And loose hair."

Ruby took her time, sipping from her beer. "Sometimes I forget you have baby skin. Like, how? You don't even take care of it and it's flawless!" she complained.

"Shut up, you're gorgeous anyways," Emma dismissed, jumping next to her on the bed to earn a look from Ruby because of the dress. "So, what do you think?"

"You're asking me if I think you're gonna get laid tonight?"

Emma shrugged and gulped some beer, "Maybe more than that?"

"You're so smitten," Ruby squealed.

Rolling her eyes, Emma slid off the bed and glanced at the clock. "Wanna play for a while? I still have time."

Ruby rose to her feet too and grabbed the snacks. "I'll go ahead and get some practice while you take a shower. This time you're not going to win me; I'm getting the rocket launcher."

"I'm going to win you anyway!" Emma yelled from the bathroom. She could only hear her friend mustering to herself before she disappeared into the living room. She took off her dress and hung it on the door to get the heat of the water to smooth the wrinkles before stepping into the shower, her mind running over the million possibilities for the evening.

* * *

Going in the subway with that dress and high heels was a no from Emma, so she called a cab and headed towards Regina's address after saying goodbye to Ruby. She arrived 10 minutes early, so she waited outside, but it was getting cold and she pulled out her phone to text Regina.

**I'm down here.**

_Could you come up? It's 7_ _th_ _floor, door B._

Emma could already feel her heart racing only at the idea of going up, and when she came into the building, she was so nervous she didn't see the doorkeeper until he spoke to her. He greeted her and she smiled at him, still a little surprised. The way up was short and it didn't take long until Emma finally found the door she was looking for. She walked closer and raised her hand to knock when she heard some hustle inside. Emma leaned to a side and rang the bell instead.

The door opened shortly after by a radiant Regina in a black short dress. She was putting on some earrings on and she smiled at Emma. "Hello, Emma."

"Hey," Emma exhaled almost breathless. "You look amazing."

Regina's grin widened and she tilted her head a little but before she could answer, Henry appeared at the door and looked up at the blonde. "Emma!"

"Hey kid," she greeted. "Nice pyjamas."

He grinned, "Thanks."

"Henry, go to the table and finish your dinner," Regina said with a different tone. She wasn't wearing high heels and Emma noticed the change in her height as the other woman stared down at her son.

"But I don't like vegetables," Henry whined.

Regina sighed and Emma felt this had been going for a while now. She glanced up at Emma and smiled at her like if nothing had happened. "I'm sorry. I'll put on my shoes and we can leave. You can come in."

Emma took the invitation and closed the door behind her as she watched Regina disappear in a hallway. At her side, Henry tilted her head, "Do you like vegetables, Emma?"

She hadn't deal with a lot of kids in her adult life, but if she knew something was that kids don't like vegetables but they had to eat it, so she nodded and lied, "Of course. They make you big and strong."

Henry nodded like if Emma had said the most brilliant thing he had ever heard and frowned, "That's what mom says too. Is that why you're strong?"

"Yes, it is." She didn't really know when she should stop lying him about it, but thankfully a young girl popped her head out from what seemed to be the kitchen and called for him.

"Henry, I already heated it." She took in Emma's presence and came out of the kitchen, offering her hand, "Oh, hi. I'm Rayna, Henry's nanny."

"She says vegetables make you big and strong," he added. Rayna raised her eyebrows at Emma, who nodded.

"That's three of us, kid. Must be real."

Henry considered that new information and walked away, nodding to himself under two pairs of eyes. Thankfully for Emma, she didn't have to stay with the nanny for too long making awkward small talk because Regina emerged from a room.

The brunette reached for her coat and put it on as she spoke to Rayna. "You have my number and all the emergency ones. Emma I gave her yours, just in case. I hope that's okay."

"Sure," Emma nodded.

"He has to finish dinner and be in bed at 9 and—"

"No sugar or horror movies," Rayne interrupted her with a kind smile. "I got it, Miss Mills, don't worry."

Regina exhaled relieved, although by the way the nanny said it Emma felt she had repeated those words a lot of times. Henry arrived to say goodbye to Regina, who kneeled to hug him. He whispered something in her ear and gave her a little figure of a fish. Regina smiled sweetly at him, like if they hadn't been arguing a few minutes ago and kissed his head. After checking everything was okay again, they finally left her house.

Outside, Regina put the figure in her purse and clasped it close. "Sorry about that. Henry chose the worst moment to have a tantrum."

Emma shrugged, "Kids and vegetables. It's normal."

"Tell me about it." Regina rolled her eyes. "By the way, thank you for the compliment. You look amazing too."

Emma had forgotten about it and only smiled in return while they waited for the elevator to open its doors. Once inside, Regina fixed the neck of her coat and her hair. "So, where are we going?"

"You like thai food?" Emma asked, praying inwardly for her to say yes.

The doors opened and Regina's eyes met hers, "I love it."

* * *

When the cab arrived, Emma opened the door for Regina and they went out to the street. It was a chill night, enough to button up their coats, but thankfully the restaurant was close. Emma asked for the reservation and the waiter led them to their table after they left their coats on the rack. The waiter left them the menus and asked what they would like to drink before returning later with wine and water to take their order.

Once alone, Emma cleared her throat and smiled while Regina placed her napkin on her lap. "I would have never guessed you would take me to a thai."

"Why?" Emma asked tilting her head.

Regina smirked and raised an eyebrow, "I thought you were a burger kind of girl?"

Emma laughed softly and shrugged. "I have a lot of favourite meals."

Reaching for her glass of wine, Regina took a sip of it and murmured, "Good to know."

The blonde swallowed at Regina's boldness that always caught her by surprise. She took in the woman in front of her, so different and at the same time so alike the woman she had met in the pool only a few months ago. She had that elegance and flirty side, but she was less carefree than she used to be.

"Well, I know what you do for a living, I know you have a son and I know when it's your birthday," Emma listed. "I guess I could ask you about where you are from? I would like to know you better."

"Everywhere really. My mother was in politics so I used to travel a lot," Regina explained nonchalantly. "The longest I ever stayed in one place was 2 years, so you could say I'm from everywhere."

"Must have been hard, always moving because of someone else."

Regina stared at her and smiled, shaking her head. "You're the first person I know that hasn't told me it was cool."

"I know how it is to be constantly trying to fit in in a new place." Emma lowered her gaze to the glass and her fingers played with it to have something to do.

"I sense it wasn't your choice either?" Regina asked softly, her hand reaching for Emma but without touching her in case she didn't feel comfortable.

"The foster system, actually," the blonde revealed more easily than she had expected. She shrugged, trying to rest it importance, but Regina wasn't fooled by that.

"That must have been hard for you, but you managed to be successful in the end," she encouraged her.

Emma looked up at her, meeting her eyes, and suddenly she felt warm. Regina's little smile grew slowly and so did hers. When the blonde saw the waiter by the corner of her eye approaching them, she rolled her eyes.

"On a brighter note, here's the food!" she sang, making Regina laugh. They tried the other's plate and kept sharing until they finished it as they talked about their lives, still getting to know each other.

By the time the waiter cleared their table, they were engaged in a non stop conversation about the best space movie to ever exist. The bottle of wine was empty now, another half full on the table, and Regina was laughing as she held her glass while Emma was explaining her arguments. When the bill arrived, after a long conversation on who paid, they split it in two and rose to their feet. Emma helped Regina put on her coat and, after putting her own on, they emerged into the city's night. They decided to walk to Regina's house, making excuses about getting some fresh air when truth was they didn't want to end the night so fast.

"So, uhm, wanna play 21 questions?" Emma asked as they walked.

Regina laughed and arched an eyebrow, "Are you 17 years old and you've been lying to me?"

"Ha-ha," Emma rolled her eyes. "I mean it. We can get to know each other like that. The only rule is you can't repeat the question the other person did. I'll start: what's your favourite animal?"

"Okay, now you're 5 years old. Maybe I should've left you with Henry," she laughed, making Emma push her shoulder gently. "I would say…a dragon maybe?"

"That's not an animal," Emma pointed out.

"You weren't specific whether it was a real animal or not," Regina shrugged. "My turn: tell me something everyone thinks that is true about you but they're wrong."

"That's deep," Emma accused her. She considered it for a moment, but didn't hesitate when she found the answer. "Everyone thinks I don't give a fuck about anyone's opinion but I actually do. It's really important for me."

"I understand," Regina nodded. "I don't think anyone thinks anything bad about you though. Your turn."

Emma smiled gratefully at the compliment, feeling a little dizzy for that extra glass of wine. She was looking at Regina and she didn't register the bike that was parked a few feet away from them. She walked right into it and she tripped, hurting her knee in the process.

"Emma, are you okay?" Regina asked concerned while she held her by her arms. If the brunette hadn't caught her in the air she probably would have fallen, but luckily she only tripped.

Emma rose to her feet and brushed her knees, grimacing when she found the wound. "Yeah, it's fine. It's just a scratch, you should see the other guy," she joked. Regina laughed and Emma smiled at it, "It's the second time I hurt myself while I'm with you. I sense a pattern."

Regina grabbed her arm, surprising her, and leaned slightly towards her. "You're clumsy; it's cute."

"My scrapped knee doesn't agree with you," Emma quipped chuckling, but inside she could feel her body lightweight. Maybe it was the alcohol, but she felt like if she was levitating. "Anyways, it was my turn right?"

"It was."

"Mmmm," Emma considered. "Have you been with a girl before?"

Regina nodded once, still not letting Emma go. "I have. She was two years older than me in high school."

"So badass," Emma teased. Regina nudged her and rolled her eyes, finally stepping aside and letting the blonde's arm go. Emma instantly felt the loss of the warmth and wished she came back.

"Have someone ever kissed you so badly you've had to push them away?" Regina asked giggling. It was obvious the alcohol was kicking in then, for both of them.

"A couple of guys, yes. Some of them are just so bad at it. It should be illegal," she laughed. They arrived at Regina's building and entered without really thinking about it, deep in the conversation.

At Regina's door, they stopped in front of it, looking at each other. Emma could feel her heartbeat racing in her chest and she was sure that if she was a cartoon her heart would pop out comically.

"It's your turn," Regina said lowly.

Emma's eyes met chocolate brown eyes and she licked her lips. "If I said yes, what would you ask?"

Regina's eyes fell for a second to her lips and then came back up a little darker. "Would you want to have one last drink inside?"

Before the brunette finished her question, Emma was nodding slowly, almost afraid that if she made a sudden movement Regina would regret it. They took no time in opening the door and once inside, Regina led her through the hall to the living room, where Rayna was waiting for them.

After a short exchange of words and several thank you, Regina closed the door behind the young girl and they were finally alone. Emma eyed the large apartment and praised her, "Your place is nice."

"Thanks," Regina smiled, looking at her with hooded eyes. "The drinks are over there. You can go ahead picking one; I'll just check in on Henry for a second."

"Sure," Emma smiled. When Regina disappeared, she released her breath and shook her hand, murmuring to herself, "Oh my god, what is happening. Relax, Emma." She turned to check the variety of drinks resting in a shelf. She was still eyeing them when she heard some noise from behind.

"Emma?" she turned quickly and found Regina frowning at her. "I'm so sorry but I think we'll have to leave the drinks for another day."

"Is everything okay?" Emma asked when she saw the expression on her face.

Regina passed a hand through her dark locks and sighed, "Yes, it's just…Henry peed the bed and I have to clean everything up and showering him." Out of all the things Emma would have expected, that hadn't come up, and it must have showed on her face because Regina repeated, "I'm sorry. These things happen with a child."

"Don't worry," Emma was quick to assure. "It happens. Who hasn't peed the bed right?" She laughed and then frowned at the choice of conversation, but Regina smiled at her.

"I guess we will see tomorrow at work?"

"I can help if you want. It's late and it's a lot of work," Emma offered all of the sudden, surprising both of them.

Regina shook her head. "It's okay, you don't have to."

"I don't mind," the blonde smiled. Regina seemed to consider it and seized Emma up.

"Well, if you don't mind…" Emma shook her head to confirm it and took of her coat to get ready. Regina had to stop from grinning at her and led her to a closet. "Can you get the new sheets for me? I will go taking the bed's ones off and getting Henry into the shower."

"Sure, no problem." Emma entered the room and reached for it, but it was too high, so she looked around for something she could use to get there. She found some ladders and stepped out of her heels to go up. When she went out, she left the high heels on the entrance and knocked on the door where she had seen Regina go into.

"Come in!" she heard. Emma entered into a kid's room, with a lot of toys and decorated with different themes. One wall was the space and the planets while the opposite was a landscape full of dinosaurs. Another wall was a castle and the last one remained in blank, probably waiting for it to be painted.

She saw the light sneaking through a half closed door and guessed it would be the bathroom. Emma could hear the water running, the kid complaining and Regina probably lecturing him. She decided to make the bed in the meantime, and by the time she had finished, Henry came out of the bathroom.

"Hi, Emma," he grumbled, still pouting about whatever had happened in the bathroom. Regina came out after, turning off the light. Her dress had wet spots here and there and she had her hair laid back; probably because she had passed a wet hand through it and it had stayed like that.

"I made the bed, so it's all ready," Emma informed her. Regina smiled at her so sweetly Emma thought she was about to melt right there.

"You didn't have to," she whispered.

"I know," Emma whispered back. "I'll wait outside. Good night Henry, keep it dry."

"Bye Emma," he yawned, climbing into the bed like if Emma's presence wasn't strange.

Outside, Emma put on her heels and Regina emerged from the kid's room shortly after, leaving the door half open. She was still wearing her heels and her hair was back to normal.

"Sorry about that again," she apologized.

Emma shook her head with a smile, "It's okay. You don't have to apologize, really." She noticed Regina's tired eyes and her smiled softened, "I should go. It's late and we have to go to work tomorrow."

"How responsible," Regina teased, but walked with her to the door. Emma put on her coat and stepped outside, turning to look at Regina. "Thank you, Emma. You were very sweet."

Emma shrugged and waved her hand, "Nah, anyone would have done the same."

"I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to spend this evening with." Regina stared into her eyes for a moment before sighing and stepping back. "I'll see you tomorrow. On time."

Laughing softly, Emma nodded, "Of course. Good night, Regina."

"Good night Emma," she smiled before closing the door.

Emma stood there, trying to come around everything that had happened and, after a few seconds, the door opened again and before she could register, Regina cupped her face and kissed her. When Emma realised what was happening, she wrapped Regina with her arms and closed her eyes, deepening the kiss.

When they separated to get some air, their eyes met and Regina smiled breathlessly. "Good night," she breathed into her lips before stepping out of Emma's embrace and closing the door again.

Once again, Emma stood in the empty hallway, now with lipstick smeared over her lips. She brought her fingers to her mouth, still not quite believing it had happened. It slowly started to kick in while her grin grew wider and wider. She raised her hands and whispered, "Yes!"

She turned and headed towards the elevator still wearing a silly smile on her face, oblivious to the fact that on the other side of the door Regina was leaning against it with the same smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew what a date night. I hope you liked it!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been 84 years I know, I'm sorry. Blame writer's block and real life. I would like to add I feel that the characters are falling a little bit ooc? I don't know. I hope you still enjoy this piece and thank you for keeping up with this!

The next day Emma was so happy she couldn't contain the grin adorning her face. She was on time, unlike her friend Ruby who apparently had had her own good night with her partners, and secretly hoped Regina was on time too. However, luck wasn't on her side that day because when she entered the elevator she didn't see her there. There wasn't anything on her desk either that morning and Emma discovered she had kind of gotten used to it. She didn't let that get her off her high though and the kiss kept repeating in her mind the whole morning.

Some time between the early hours and lunch, Ruby managed to get a few free minutes from work and they agreed to meet on the kitchen to get some coffee. "Okay, tell me everything," Ruby urged her when they met.

"Good morning, Emma. How are you? Well, I'm fine. Thanks, Ruby, you're so kind," Emma said sarcastically while she prepared a cup of coffee for herself.

Behind her, Ruby rolled her eyes and leaned on the counter next to her, crossing her arms. "I don't have all morning. Besides, I can already tell you're fine. Just take a look at that grin, jeez. Someone got laid last night," she sing sang, poking Emma.

The blonde took her sweet time to finish her coffee and prepare Ruby's, enjoying every minute of torture as her friend waited impatiently for her to reveal what had happened. Once she calculated it was enough suffering, she turned to hand her the coffee mug. "For your information," she said behind her own mug, "I did not get laid."

Ruby narrowed her eyes at her as she took a sip. "Then why are you all Mrs. Smiles?" Her eyes went wide at her sudden realization and leaned closer to tease her, "Did you hold hands and that's why you're so smitten? I had forgotten you're such a romantic."

"Shut up," Emma pushed her and shook her head. "Also, we didn't hold hands. Technically. Maybe she held my arm? Does that count?"

Ruby frowned at her before shaking her head to clear her mind. "Okay, start at the beginning. What was she wearing?"

Emma blinked at her and raised an eyebrow, "How's that relevant now?" Smirking, Ruby shrugged faking innocence and her friend rolled her eyes. "When I arrived I had to go up because she wasn't ready yet. Henry was having a bit of trouble eating his vegetables."

"The kid?" Ruby wondered.

Emma nodded. "Yeah. Anyway, when we finally left I took her to the restaurant and we started to talk about ourselves to get to know each other." She paused for a moment, looking down and getting ready for her friend's reaction to the next reveal. "I told her about the foster families."

"Wait," Ruby grabbed her arm and left her cup of coffee on the counter. "Really?" Emma nodded slowly and her friend's eyebrows went up in her forehead, almost disappearing in her hairline. "You're really serious with her."

Hearing it out loud made Emma feel a little nervous about it, but she found out it was a good kind of nervous. She tried to hold back the smile that threatened to creep up her face but failed. "It was easy, you know. I didn't hesitate to share things with her I don't usually share. Everything is easy with her," she shrugged.

"It must be," Ruby nodded. "I know how reserved you are when it comes to that. I mean out of all your close friends I'm the only one who knows, and that's because you sneaked into my house."

"I didn't," she pointed out. Ruby was still shaking her head when she decided to drop the rest of the bomb. "Anyway, we kissed. Well, she kissed me actually."

"Whaaaaat?" her friend exclaimed. "Slow down and tell me what happened."

Emma started from the moment she had ended up in Regina's apartment with the promise of another drink, to Henry's accident, to the moment Regina had surprised her by kissing her. While she told Ruby, something in her stomach started to flutter but she couldn't tell if it was from the memory or from the uncertainty of where they were now in the relationship. If there was even one.

Ruby listened to her silently and waited until she finished to ask, "And that's it?" Emma frowned and tilted her head but before she could reply, Ruby clarified, "I mean you kissed, and what now?"

"I don't know," Emma answered honestly. "I haven't even seen her today yet."

"Do you think she's making you suffer only to see you squirm? She looks like she would enjoy that," Ruby murmured more to herself. She left the mug in the dishwasher and Emma handed her hers as she shrugged.

"If she is, I think it's enough suffering."

Ruby smiled and placed her hands on Emma's shoulders. "Don't worry. She kissed you so it's a good sign. It will be fine."

Emma returned the smile thankfully and nodded. "I guess we'll see. We should get back to work though. I wouldn't want the first words from Regina to be to move my lazy ass," she chuckled. Ruby rolled her eyes and waved her goodbye with the promise of meeting later to walk home together, so Emma came back to her desk to keep working on the documents she had open on her laptop.

It wasn't until near it was time to leave, while Emma was waiting for the copy machine to finish, when Regina rushed into the room. The blonde was eyeing the posters in the bulletin board when she heard someone sighing behind her. She turned to see who they were and saw Regina passing a hand through her hair with her eyes closed. When she opened them, she found Emma looking and by the expression on her face, she didn't expect to find anyone there.

"Emma," she breathed.

"Hey," the blonde smiled. "Are you okay? You look stressed."

Regina left the folder she was carrying on a table and sighed. "You know how hectic Fridays are. I have been running from meeting to meeting."

"It does sound stressful," she agreed. Emma gathered the copies she had gone to get and bit her lip nervously. It was the first time since the kiss they saw each other and they were alone in the same room. She cleared her throat and looked at her, "How's Henry?"

Regina glanced up and smiled, remembering something Emma didn't know yet, "He's embarrassed. Last night he wasn't fully conscious but this morning he could remember you had been there."

Emma laughed softly with Regina at that. "You can assure him it's okay."

"I will tell him that," Regina nodding, holding back a chuckle. "He will be glad to know that."

They fell silent again and Emma held the copies close to her chest. Outside they could hear people talking and walking around the office, but they stayed there on their own. Finally, Emma took the chance and asked, "How are you?" Regina tilted her head and frowned, so she added, "Last night we…"

"Oh," Regina smiled. She glanced around to check they were alone and took a step forward, towards Emma. "I am good. Are you?"

She was close enough for Emma to smell her perfume, the bittersweet scent that invaded her nostrils and let her mind swim into an ocean of memories of the previous night. She nodded slowly, "Yes."

Regina leaned in, staring into bright eyes to search for signs of rejection. It was Emma who closed the gap between them and her eyes fluttered close involuntarily. She hadn't dreamt it. Regina's lips were as soft as she remembered and her tongue was as curious as the previous night. The only difference Emma could register—barely in the state she was in—was the gentleness in the kiss. The way Regina explored her mouth taking her time and how Emma complemented her movements like if they were in sync. It left her breathless again and Emma wondered if that would ever change because Regina left her breathless since the first time she saw her.

"I am good," she repeated in a whisper only Emma could hear. "Are you?"

"I am good."

* * *

It's not like they were officially a thing, like Emma would call it, but they most definitely were unofficially a thing. A  _romantic_ thing. In fact, it was so romantic they hadn't gone any further than passionate kisses at work. There was always something that interrupted them, even themselves, like when Emma could already feel the desire burning up in her skin only to be stopped by Regina, the voice of reason.

She was right; they were in the workplace and no one—besides Ruby—knew about them, and they wanted to keep it that way a little longer. Even though if they had to bit the inside of their cheek only to control the desire to kiss the other.

After work, it was a little better. They used to go out with Henry, to the park, to get some hot cocoa now that it was really getting cold, they went to the movies or stayed in to watch them inside. When they were alone though, Emma and Regina used the time to talk about themselves, telling stories about their lives while the other listened. They learned a lot from each other in only a few weeks, and they confessed they had revealed more to each other than they had done with anyone before. Weekends started to become their private paradise, going out for dinner and spending time with the kid.

At work they kept formalities around everyone, of course, but Emma kept getting little details every Monday, waiting for her at her desk when she arrived. David asked Emma about them when he got to catch any of them, but she always managed to avoid the questions.

One Thursday, after the soccer match, Mulan, Emma and the rest of the girls went out to a bar to get some energy back into their system. That was, burgers for everyone. By then Emma had fit in very well in the group and she even considered them all friends now, even going out with them some weekends.

Aurora landed next to Emma and leaned close. "Hey Emma. Next time remember me to never try to outrun you. You're like that superhero who runs faster than lightning."

"The Flash," Mulan tipped at the other side of Emma.

"Right!" Aurora smiled pointing at Mulan. "So yeah, Flash."

Emma laughed and waved her hand as she cleaned the sauce off her mouth with a napkin. "It's funnier if I don't remind you that though."

Aurora rolled her eyes but poked her, getting even closer to her, "You're a tease." Emma only shrugged to fake innocence and smiled, and the girl jumped from her seat to place between the blonde and Mulan, putting her hands on the girls' shoulders. "You guys are the best, seriously."

"I think someone is drunk," Emma sang, making Mulan contain a laugh.

"Maybe," Aurora drawled her words. "But I'm for real."

"We know, Ro," Mulan finally laughed. "Hey Emma, why don't you tell her about your new girlfriend? Maybe Aurora can take notes on the little things that matter."

Emma shook her head at the zero subtlety Mulan and Aurora had. Ever since the blonde saw them together, she thought they were a couple, but turns out they only flirted. Flirted  _hard_. For what the rest of the team had told her, they had been like this since forever, but after Aurora had ended things with her last boyfriend, none of them had take the step.

"Oh, you have a girlfriend?" Aurora asked, taking a seat on top of Mulan, who immediately wrapped her into her arms.

"She's not my girlfriend," Emma rolled her eyes.

Mulan leaned forward and whispered not so quietly, "She is and she is secret. I think maybe she is making it all up to make me jealous."

Aurora laughed and raised an eyebrow, "You? Jealous? Impossible." She turned to Emma and smiled, "Since when are you two together?"

"We're not," Emma insisted. "Really. Like, yeah we do stuff but we're not…girlfriends."

"Stuff," Mulan huffed. "That's how they call it these days, huh."

"Shut up," Emma shot back with a smile on her face.

Aurora rose to her feet and went back to the position she had been in, with her hands around their shoulders. "I think 'stuff' is enough. You should totally ask her out for real."

"I've been telling her that these past two weeks but she keeps ignoring me," Mulan murmured behind her burger before she took a bite.

"Of course she ignores you, but she will listen to me," Aurora grinned. Mulan glared at her and she pulled out her tongue before parting to the other side of the table. Emma shook her head with a smile but she had to admit the question kept popping out in her mind. What if she asked Regina to make it official?

* * *

It was the start of December and the Christmas vibe was all around the city. The lights were starting to be put in the streets and mall shops were already decorating their windows with fake snow and putting Santa's hats on the mannequins. Everyone seemed to feel a little bit more joyous all of the sudden, even in the cold beginning of winter.

The sky was dark when Emma and Regina left the restaurant. Their coats were warm but not enough to feel the chill of the air. However, that didn't stop them from taking a walk home. In the future Emma could barely remember what they were talking about when Regina slid her hand into Emma's subtly during the conversation; she could feel the other woman's warmth through the gloves.

"I can't believe you waited so long to tell me you have never been to a musical before," Regina said trying not to laugh, but she felt so carefree with Emma she couldn't help but at least giggle.

Emma shrugged next to her. "I guess I've never had the chance to be into that?"

"Well, you have now," Regina decided. "I will take you to one some day before I regret this relationship."

Emma felt her heart skip a beat at the word and hoped it didn't show in her face. She had had a couple of glasses of wine—Regina's recommendation—and it gave her enough courage to drop the question.

"So this is a relationship?"

Regina stopped and her hand tugged Emma's, who had kept walking, making the blonde turn to look at her. Regina slightly bit her lower lip, almost inadvertently if Emma hadn't been looking at her mouth, and she smiled a little smugly.

"Is it?" she just counter asked.

Their eyes met in an intense gaze in which both of them expressed their feelings without saying a word. However, Emma needed to hear it. She needed to know she wasn't alone on this; that she wasn't crazy. The blonde opened her mouth to answer her when she felt a really cold drop on her face.

She blinked and lifted her fingers to her cheeks with a frown before she glanced up just when she felt another hit her head. And another. And another. And then she realized it wasn't water; at least not in liquid form.

"It's snowing," Regina said out loud what Emma was thinking. They stared at each other and grinned, even laughed. "Perfect timing, isn't it?"

"Timing?" Emma wondered.

Regina nodded. "You ask me about our relationship and it starts to snow." She arched an eyebrow and smirked, "Isn't this the moment you kiss me?"

"I don't need snow to want to kiss you."

Leaning slightly forward, most likely unconsciously, Regina whispered, "Then what are you waiting for?"

Emma didn't wait a second longer to kiss her and, although they had already done more times she could count, it still felt as magical as the first time. Before she could realize they were wrapped around each other, giving everything they had and pouring it into the kiss. However, the warmth of Regina's lips wasn't enough to make her forget about the snowflakes that were starting to soak them.

"As much as I would like to keep doing this, we're going to be ice cubes in less than a minute if we don't look for some cover," she breathed against Regina, the mist of her breath mixing with Regina's.

"I can't help to agree," the brunette said but none of them let the other go.

"My place is nearby. We can go up and I can give you some clothes for you to change while these dry," Emma suggested and Regina just nodded.

Their hands linked again and Emma led her, running through the streets under thousands of snowflakes that appeared in the street lights when they fell. By the time they arrived at Emma's apartment, a few block away, they were breathless but giggling and their hands remained linked. At the building door, Emma searched for her keys, but the task was forgotten when some how their mouth found a way to each other.

When they finally arrived at Emma's apartment, they took off their coats and the blonde turned on the heater. She guided Regina into the apartment and left her in the living room while she went to look for some clothes to lend her. She came back only to find Regina eyeing the only three pictures she owned: one of Ruby, Granny and her when they were younger; another of her with Mary Margaret, David, Ruby and Belle at a dinner; and another with the soccer team.

"I brought you this," she said raising the clothes she had in her hand. Regina turned to look at her and smiled thankfully before she started to disrobe.

She took off her jacket, leaving it on a chair, and then she turned. "Could you unzip me? I can't reach."

Emma swallowed, frozen in the same place, until she registered Regina was talking to her. She quickly left the stack of clothes she was carrying and shook her hands before reaching for the zip. It went down easily, rounding every curve of Regina's body and leaving the straps of her bra in sight.

The blonde's lips were dry but she couldn't even notice in that moment, not when all her attention was focused on the other woman's skin. It wasn't the first time she saw her like this; they had been together at the pool after all. But her memory did no justice to Regina's beauty.

"Done," she stammered when she realised she had been staring for too long.

Without turning, Regina let her dress fall, revealing her black lace underwear and making Emma almost faint at the sight. The brunette reached for the t-shirt Emma had brought her and she slid it on in her body. When she turned again, Emma didn't know if she was thankful for that t-shirt or not; it looked smoking hot on Regina.

"You're still wet," Regina smirked, nodding at her.

Emma looked down with a blush and realised she was right. When she glanced up, Regina was staring down at her, almost daring her to take off her clothes like she had, and Emma wasn't one to chicken out. She started on her leather jacket, shrugging it off her shoulder and then the buttons of her shirt. Regina's eyes were intense on her; she could feel it without looking up.

While she put on her own long t-shirt, she mentally rewarded her past self for turning on the heater, because since the floor was made of wood, it had warmed up and allowed them to just be wearing t-shirts and be okay.

"Can I offer you a drink?" she asked after a pause.

"You may," Regina conceded taking a seat. "What do you have to offer?" she asked, her eyes roaming over Emma's body.

"I have beer and whiskey I think. Unless you want a hot chocolate?" Emma added with a smirk.

"Out of those it's the best choice, I admit," Regina joked. "I'll have whiskey."

"On it."

Emma turned on her heels and walked to the kitchen, where the floor changed. She shivered at the cold before she reached for two tumblers from the cabinet. She was about to reach for the bottle of whiskey when she felt a body flush against her back.

"I couldn't help but notice you were shivering," Regina whispered in her ear. The warm breath tickled Emma's skin and she released a shaky breath. She felt a feather light kiss on her shoulder where the shirt fell off and she forgot whatever she was about to answer.

Emma turned to look at Regina, who wasn't wearing her high heels anymore and was a little lower than the blonde. There was no hesitation and both of them leaned in for the kiss. It was passionate, hungry for each other, while Regina pressed Emma against the counter. The blonde allowed it for a while, deepening the kiss, but when she noticed Regina wasn't using her strength anymore, she turned them over and lifted her on the counter in one swift move.

Their lips separated and Regina stared at Emma, stunned. Her hands caressed Emma's arms up and licked her lips before bringing her close for another never ending kiss. Emma's hands held Regina's back, sliding down to push Regina even closer to her, eliciting a gasp from the other woman.

They touched, moaned and kissed for a long time, drinking in each other as the coldness of the floor was long forgotten, until Regina stopped with a hand in Emma's chest to push her apart. They were already breathless and their ragged breath mixed up between them as their eyes met. Emma wondered for a moment if Regina wanted to wait, which would make sense after all the interruptions they had, and considered that maybe she had gone too far, more than what would make Regina uncomfortable.

Relief washed over her when Regina leaned her forehead against hers and breathed, "Bed. Now."

Emma helped her off the counter and led her to her bedroom between kisses, hitting a few pieces of furniture along the way, but none of them could care less, not when Emma was gently pushing Regina down onto the bed. Emma climbed on top of her, catching the hem of her shirt to bring it up and off her body.

Her mouth watered at the sight and swallowed. Regina smirked and tugged at Emma's t-shirt, bringing it up as she sat up. "I would like to admire your body too," she murmured against the blonde's mouth.

Emma would like to say they took their time, taking the underwear off slowly to enjoy the process, but before they realised they were off the last garments of clothes. At every moan dripping from Regina's lips, Emma felt herself getting wetter and even more when she slid a leg between the other woman's legs and felt Regina was in the same state. Her hands covered Regina's body, exploring every inch and learning every curve like if she were to draw a map of her body.

Their bodies rocked against each other, fuelled by the moans of the other woman and the fire in their eyes, kissing wherever they could reach and as much as their lungs allowed them. When Emma sneaked a hand between Regina's legs, the brunette sighed loudly, ending with a soft groan of pleasure and held Emma's back, bringing her closer as she moved her hips to match the finger's rhythm.

Regina chanted Emma's name, repeating it over and over in her ear as she dug her nails in her back. "Don't stop, Emma," she pleaded when her eyes fell shut.

Emma stared in fascination at her face, taking in ever expression to keep giving her pleasure and when Regina's mouth opened to let out a long, loud moan as she body trembled, Emma decided that was her favourite view in all time and space.

She had no time to recover from it when Regina turned them over on the bed and straddled her. Their lips crashed in a searing kiss, but Regina was still breathless, so she pulled apart and left small kisses down her neck, chest—stopping there for while to use her tongue—and then down her belly. She stopped at the panties—had they been there—line and kissed there, looking up to meet Emma's eyes and when she noticed the big bright orbs staring back at her, she smirked. Regina lowered her head and closed her eyes, missing the way Emma's closed too and she threw her head backwards.

Emma couldn't know how much time it took her to reach her orgasm, she didn't even care to know, but it still didn't feel enough. Regina climbed up, leaving traces of kisses on her way up and when she straddled Emma again she grinned and licked her lips. Emma closed her eyes and moaned before sitting up and wrapping Regina's body with her arms. "Ugh you're so sexy," she growled. "Has anyone ever told you you look like you were sculpted by the gods?"

Regina chuckled and brushed aside a strand of blond hair with her fingers. "You're still in the post orgasm high."

"Maybe," Emma admitted with a dopey smile, brushing her nose against Regina's neck. "And maybe I don't want to come down yet."

"Mmm I could help you with that." Their gazes locked and Emma bit her lip, but Regina's thumb traced it, freeing the lower lip from her teeth and the brunette caught it with her own.

They lowered down, falling on the bed again. Outside the snow was still falling, covering the streets in a thin layer of ice, but in Emma's bed they felt like it was summer again. This time though, they would not let each other go.

* * *

The taxi left them at the door of Regina's building. Emma walked with her until they were covered under a ceiling. The brunette was back in her dress and coat, already dry, but Emma had left the fancy clothes, like she used to call them, and put on some jeans and a sweatshirt.

After they kissed at the door, Regina searched for her keys on her purse and when she finally found them, she pulled them out but still didn't open even though they were out in the cold.

"You still haven't answered me yet," Regina said, playing with her keys absently.

Emma tilted her head, "Answer what?"

"This is a relationship?"

There was a pause before Emma narrowed her eyes with a smile. " _I_ asked that."

Regina shrugged. "And I asked you if you thought it is."

"I can't just decide if it is," Emma stubbornly replied. "I mean, both of us need to want to before we decide and stuff."

Regina smiled. "Right. I had forgotten you are 17 years old." Emma rolled her eyes and was about to retort when Regina interrupted her. "I do want to."

"Me too," Emma almost whispered. She couldn't believe it was happening; she couldn't believe Regina was right and she was 17 years old for wanting to hear a confirmation on their relationship, but hearing it made it worth it.

"I think it's a deal then." Their smiles widened but became shy at the same time and Emma kissed her.

"Deal sealed," she grinned smugly.

Regina rolled her eyes, shaking her head, "You're a child." She leaned in and stole another kiss before raising her eyebrow. "I'll see you on Monday?"

"Sure," Emma nodded. "My boss would kill me if she knew I skipped work because I'm too busy freaking out about this new girlfriend."

"I don't know. Maybe she will be freaking out too," Regina said before kissing her again. This time, when they separated, she opened the door and entered the building, turning to look at the blonde one more time. "Good night, Emma."

Emma just saluted her with a smile and watched her go into the building until she couldn't see her anymore. She sighed happily and turned to the street. She really felt like a teenager in love and she should be ashamed of that, but she was so smitten she couldn't even think of anything else on the way back home.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be forever apologizing for the delay and the mistakes of grammar, but by now I hope you're still bearing with me. I promise to give you all you want in this story in exchange.

Emma knocked on the door, but she had been so gentle she wasn't sure if it had been heard so she knocked again, harder this time. Only when she heard the confirmation from inside, she opened the door.

It was late, later than her time to leave, but she was stuck in a project and she wanted to finish it as soon as she could. The building was almost empty, except from the other few workers that, like her, were finishing up some things and the cleaning team. On her floor, Emma was alone with David, but when he had called it for the day, she had been left alone. After half an hour later, she went up.

Regina was typing something furiously when she came in and only raised her head when Emma left a folder on her desk. "Emma. What are you still doing here?" she asked, taking off the glasses she was wearing.

"The same as you, I guess. I wanted to finish this beforehand so you could take a look at it and give it the ok," she explained pointing at the folder. Then, she smiled and raised an eyebrow, "I didn't know you wore glasses."

Regina eyed them, placed carefully on the desk. "Only when my sight is tired," she blushed slightly.

"They look good on you," Emma complimented. "It's sexy."

Smirking, Regina arched an eyebrow and leaned back on her chair. "Tired eyes are sexy?"

"I mean—the glasses…like porn secretary…" Emma mumbled, standing in front of the desk feeling the warmth on her cheeks spreading through her body.

Regina stood and rounded the desk, stopping at Emma's side. Her hand trailed up the blonde's arm until she reached her scalp and she tangled her fingers in her long tresses. "I know," she muttered.

Emma closed her eyes and leaned in the touch, making Regina's smirk grow as she dipped her head and kissed the other woman's neck. This time Emma sighed and bit her lip, feeling Regina's lips, teeth and tongue in sensitive skin. The fact that they were in her office didn't go unnoticed by Emma, who decided to remain quiet about it, leaving Regina to lead.

A hand fell to Emma's hip, pushing her against the desk while the other one in her head grabbed a fistful of hair. Regina leaned back and her eyes met Emma's, revealing the desire she felt in the way her pupils dilated, making the blue-green line almost disappear. Her lips reattached to Emma's, taking no time to deepen the kiss and finally trapping the blonde between the desk and her body.

Emma wrapped her between her arms, her hands falling to Regina's ass to squeeze and smile at the moan that provoked. Regina's belt was unclasped quickly, allowing her to pop open the button that held the brunette's suit pants together and get her hands inside, moving to the back again to push Regina closer.

A hand sneaked beneath her bra and cupped her breast, pinching a nipple and making Emma pull apart from the kiss to allow the moan to escape. It wasn't like when they had sex on the bed, or the couch if they didn't reach the bed. Those times it was passionate, but they took their time to admire the other woman's body. In that moment though, it was rushed.

Regina's pants still were on when Emma cupped her centre and glided her fingers through her wetness, revelling in the sounds Regina made against her lips. "Emma, I need…," she groaned, "…I need you to fuck me."

Emma's moan joined Regina's as she conceded her wishes. She closed her eyes and listened to the brunette's encouragement words, indicating her to keep going. Regina's nails dug in her skin while the grip on blonde locks grew stronger as she reached her climax.

She came down in Emma's arms, leaning her forehead on her shoulder as she recovered her breath. Emma pulled her hand out on Regina's pants and held her until she lifted her head with a smile.

"You're amazing. I really needed that," she sighed.

Emma returned the smile with a chuckle, "I can tell."

Regina leaned back and slapped her shoulder with a roll of eyes. She buttoned her pants and clasped her belt, giving Emma a quick kiss before the door of her office opened with a thud. The two women jumped and their eyes darted to the door.

"Hello, sis!" the woman at the door greeted with a thick accent. Her air was bright red, very much like fire, and it fell on her shoulders. She swayed inside the office and gave a frozen Regina two air kisses on her cheeks.

"Zelena," Regina said once she recovered her voice. "What are you doing here? I thought you would arrive next week."

"I decided to come a week sooner to surprise you. Surprise!" she sang, taking a seat on one of the chairs and opening her purse to pull out a mirror. She checked her lipstick and, once she closed the mirror and looked up, her eyes met Emma's figure next to her and she gave a toothy smile. "Pardon me, how rude. Who are you?"

"I'm—" Emma started, but Regina took a step forward and interrupted her.

"Miss Swan works in my department and you just interrupted a very important meeting," she said, making it clear with her voice she was annoyed.

Zelena rose to her feet and offered a hand to Emma, who took it and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Swan. I suppose you have a name?"

"Emma."

"Emma!" Zelena repeated, shaking her head more vigorously. "Nice to meet you. I'm sorry for interrupting your meeting. You see, I came to save my sister from ending up a workaholic like our mother was."

"Your sister," Emma repeated, turning to look at Regina and lifting an eyebrow. "I would've never guessed it."

"I know." Zelena's arm latched onto Emma's as she leaned against her. "People always say we look nothing alike. Make sense since—"

"Zelena," Regina interrupted. "Why don't you go to my apartment and wait there? I'll pick up Henry and we can catch up."

"Oh no," Zelena shook her head, letting Emma go and placing her hands on Regina's shoulders. "Like I said, I'm saving you from work and we're going Christmas shopping. You have to help find Henry something he will like because it will be hard to top the kite."

Emma blinked at the scene in front of her, not sure of what to do. Regina's gaze met her and Zelena turned too. "I can wait if your meeting was  _so_ important," she added, although making it clear she didn't like the idea.

"Why don't you wait outside? I'll go out in a minute," Regina promised. The redhead rolled her eyes and said goodbye before marching out of the room, reminding her with a yell that she would wait 5 minutes tops.

"I'm sorry about that," Regina breathed once the door closed.

"Don't worry," Emma shrugged. "So that's famous aunt Z?" she asked pointing at the door.

"Yes," Regina nodded. "I thought she would come next week for Christmas."

"It's cute that she surprised you," Emma smiled.

Regina shook her head. "Don't be fooled. Her plans probably got cancelled for this week and decided to come earlier."

"Still," Emma insisted. "Are you spending Christmas together?"

Regina, who had rounded her desk to pick up her things, nodded. "Wherever we are, we made a promise to spend at least Christmas together. It's by far the craziest time of the year." She came back with Emma, carrying her purse, and after leaning down to pick up the folder the blonde had left her, she tilted her head. "Actually, I was waiting one more week, but now that she is here I doubt she can keep quiet about it. We are having a New Year's party at her attic here in the city and I was wondering if you would like to come?"

Emma didn't even know what she would do that evening, let alone what she would do in a few weeks. She still hadn't plans for New Year's Eve, but she thought that Regina inviting her to the party meant something. Like a real  _something._  And the idea of spending that night with her seemed amazing to her, so she nodded.

"Yes, I would love to."

"Good," Regina smiled, showing relief in her features. There was a knock on her door and they heard Zelena outside calling for her, so Regina kissed Emma one last time. "I promise I'll reward you for today."

"Mmm I like that," Emma smirked, giving Regina's ass one last squeeze.

Regina pulled apart, biting her lip, "Don't make it harder for me to leave."

"I can't help it," Emma shrugged. "You're just too hot."

Already grabbing the doorknob, Regina rolled her eyes but Emma could see the blush on her face. It still surprised how she could make someone like Regina blush; someone who looked like a goddess and knew it.

When she opened the door, Zelena raised her hands in the air. "Thank God. I thought you had died. Let's go. Bye Emma!" she waved her hand over her shoulder before taking Regina with her.

Emma stood in the middle of Regina's office, blinking at how crazy the last minutes had been. After a moment she reacted and looked around before leaving the room.

* * *

"Emma, let's go!" Ruby yelled from the door, followed with a grunt as she picked up her big suitcase. She was at the door of Emma's apartment, after spending a few days there. Now, they were leaving for the weekend to spend Christmas at the suburbs with Ruby's grandmother.

Emma grabbed her beanie and put it on quickly as she left her bedroom, carrying her own suitcase, this one smaller than Ruby's. They took the subway to the outskirts and then a train where, while Ruby slept at her side, Emma listened to her favourite songs as she watched the trees outside. It was all covered in snow from the last week; it hadn't stopped snowing.

When they arrived it was late, but still Granny was waiting for them at the station with a smile on her face. As soon as they met, the old lady pulled both of them into her arms to give them a big hug. "I thought that train would never arrive!"

"Yeah, it got delayed by half an hour," Ruby sighed as she stretched her back. They picked up their suitcases and followed Granny's to the car which was waiting for them at the exit.

"You look tired," Granny said when they were on the road. "And also you look like you haven't eaten in days. What do they feed you with in the city?"

"You wouldn't want to know," Emma chuckled on the back seat.

Ruby giggled along and waved her hand, "That's why we're coming. To recover with your great cooking."

"If you're trying to flatter me to lend you the car, you'll have to work harder than that."

"C'mon," Ruby whined. "We need it to come pick up the girls for the party."

"You're young. You can walk," Granny shot back, remaining stoic.

Next to her Ruby sighed loudly enough for everyone to hear as she crossed her arms and sunk in the seat. Emma smiled at the scene before she glanced out the window and saw the familiar line of houses. She had lived there the most part of her childhood and teenage years, and although it hadn't been like she would have liked, the place still gave her good memories. Especially in Ruby's house.

When they arrived, Ruby and Granny were still bickering about the car, although it was obvious the older woman would lend it to them in the end. They entered the house and the smell of a fresh cooked meal washed over them. Emma grinned with all the memories it brought. It felt good being back home.

* * *

Christmas Eve was always an event in that street. Each year one of the neighbours threw a party, right after the orphanage's charitable recital. This year is Granny's turn, so Emma and Ruby invited their friends to come over. Out of all of them, the only two that accepted were Mulan and Aurora. The first one's family was living in China and it was too far away for her, and the second's family didn't get along with her since she had left Philip, a brilliant businessman. They picked up their friends at the station—after begging Granny again for the car—and arrived just in time for the recital.

It was Emma's first time. After she had left the place, she hadn't gone to the recital, although she went to Granny's house every year. While they went, Emma usually stayed in watching whatever parade was on TV until they returned and picked her up to go to the party. This year, however, Emma decided to take a step forward and let go of her past. It was just a recital, the same every year, but the place still gave her chills.

When they entered the orphanage, she was left behind by Ruby, Mulan, Aurora and Granny, while she eyed the place. She was thankful for that, because she wanted her space. The walls were the same, only a little paler than when she was there. The way to the small theatre was direct, only passing through a building where Emma knew the canteen, the living room and the offices were located. Still, it was enough for her to remember a little self running through the hallways to get the best food at dinner, being sent to the director's office for the tenth time or fighting for the remote.

Emma felt a pang of melancholy mixed with her lunch and ran to the bathrooms, luckily finding the toilet in time to throw it all out. She leaned against the stall and let her head fall backwards with a sigh. "C'mon, Emma. This is stupid. It's just a building," she murmured to herself.

After a moment to settle down her stomach, she rose to her feet and washed her mouth and face, staring at her reflection on the broken mirror. She imagined how it must have ended up broken, but before she started to remember her times there, she shook her head and stepped back.

"Hey, Ems. I thought we had lost you," Ruby said when the blonde sat at her side. "Are you okay?" she asked in a lower tone with a worried frown.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just not used to eat so much," she smiled reassuringly. Ruby squinted her eyes but let her get away with it, not without eyeing her very close. Before the recital started, Emma felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and she pulled it out to read a text from Regina.

_It's harder to control my sister than Henry. He asked for you._

Emma smiled and felt the knot on her stomach loosen a little.

**Tell him I went looking for Santa.**

_You don't want to go there. He will ask you about everything. Are you there?_

Emma had commented Regina she would go to the recital that year after an eternity, but she didn't mention how nervous she was about it. Regina, however, didn't need to be told since she could read her weak smile when Emma had told her.

**There are more people than I expected.**

_Are you okay?_

Emma chuckled. Did throwing up after setting a foot there counted as okay?

**Sort of. All good now.**

The response took a little longer to arrive but it was worth it when Emma opened the text to see a picture of Regina and Henry beaming at the camera, their faces pushed together to fit in the focus. Henry had flour on his cheeks and was wearing an apron, like Regina. Below the image, Regina wrote the next text.

_Merry Christmas from Henry and I. It will be okay. If there's one thing I'm sure of is that you are the strongest person I've met._

The lights started to turn off while Emma smiled at the picture. Next to her, Ruby touched her arm and whispered, "It's starting."

Emma quickly replied and left her phone on her pocket again. When she raised her head curtain opened and the head of the orphanage, someone Emma didn't recognise from her years there, introduced the recital. Ruby found her hand and gave her a squeeze.

The knot in Emma's stomach was only a memory when the first kid appeared on stage.

* * *

Mulan, Ruby, Aurora and Emma were at a corner of the garden, giggling. They were near one of the table and at the same time they glanced at the crowd gathered there that night.

"I think it's enough shots for now," Mulan said, although the giggle that came out next made her lose all her credibility.

"Are you kidding?" Aurora laughed. "This is the best drinking game ever. I think we have checked all the things on the list. Right, Ruby?"

The brunette pulled out her phone and swayed a little next to Emma, who grabbed her by her shoulders. "No. We have one left."

"Which one?" Emma wondered trying to get a look of the phone over her friend's shoulders.

They were all reading the list when a man appeared in front of them with two drinks. "Aye, ladies. Having fun?" he said with a thick accent and a side smile.

"This one," Ruby deadpanned, pointing at the item on the list that said  _One shot for the annoying guy who tries to hook up with you during the party._  All four of them took a shot while he tilted his head.

"My name is Killian Jones," he introduced himself nevertheless. "I was told you were working for an advertising company?" he asked looking directly at Emma.

"I do, yes," she confirmed with a nod. His smile widened and offered the drink. Emma politely shook her head and raised her own drink.

He left the drink in the nearest table without dropping the smile. "I've been looking for one of those companies to help me with my business," he started, but Ruby wrapped Emma in her arms and turned her away.

"Sorry. No work today. See you around!" she smiled before all four of them walked away. "Geez, he was asphyxiating me with that cologne."

"Hey, he seemed like he just wanted some help," Emma defended him, although she didn't really believe her words once they were out.

"Yeah, in his pants," Mulan quipped.

In the back of the room, one of the guests took place on the piano and started to poorly play some notes as he sang. The girls locked their gazes before raising an eyebrow and taking another shot.

* * *

Going to the New Year's party at Zelena's was weird. Mostly because Emma only knew the Mills sisters and Henry. By the pose of everyone there, they were important people in society, walking around the room with a glass of champagne in one hand like if it was made of gold. Emma found a little spot next to a window, where she watched the city from above.

"Hey," she head from behind. Emma turned and saw Regina smiling at her in a fancy dress that hugged every curve of her body. She took a moment to take it in, making Regina blush.

"Hey," she answered when she finally reached her eyes. "You look amazing, as always."

"Thank you. You look wonderful too."

Emma looked down at her simple dress, that compared to Regina's was a sack, and waved her hand. "Everyone here looks like they own a country and I'm, well, just me."

"Some of them do own a country," Regina answered stepping closer. "But none of them is more important than you."

Lowering her gaze, Emma tried to fight the blush at the compliment and, being how she was, she nodded at Henry, who was talking to Zelena in that very moment. "He's better at this than me and he's barely above a metre."

"Henry has been attending these parties since he was a toddler," Regina smiled following Emma's gaze. "I don't think this is the ideal place for a child, but Zelena only sees him a few times a year and this is one of them."

"You two are an odd pair. You seem to complement each other," Emma said now looking at the red haired woman. A waiter walked past them and offered two glasses, which they took.

"That is always the first impression," Regina explained after taking a sip. "But actually we're more alike than it may seem."

"Well, you both like to spoil Henry," Emma joked. Regina laughed and shrugged her shoulders.

"One more than the other but I'm guilty." They fell in silence for a bit, watching people come and go in the room before Regina turned to look at Emma right in her eyes. "I'm glad you came tonight. These parties are usually boring and socially pressuring but with you here it's endurable."

"I'm glad I came too. I would have missed you with that dress and I would never get over that," the blonde quipped. "And I may sound like a teenager, but I would love to kiss you at midnight."

"You do sound like a teenager," Regina teased.

"But is that a yes?"

Regina smirked and took a sip of her drink, not revealing a word. Emma was about to protest when Zelena found them and Regina took a step back. "Sis, there's something here you have to meet. He's an important business man that came all the way across the country for this party."

"I—" Regina tried to say, but Zelena took a hold of her arm and tugged.

"Let's go. Have fun Emma!" the red-haired smiled while she took Regina away.

Emma watched them go and drained her glass before leaving it in one of the trays the waiters carried. The next time she found Regina, she was in the kitchen, leaning on a counter and finishing a glass of wine. Regina lifted her gaze alarmed, but visibly relaxed when she realised it was only Emma.

"Are you alright?" the blonde asked when she noticed the bottle of wine open next to her.

"Yes, I just needed a moment," Regina assured with a smile. "Social pressure, remember?"

"I sense this party is not much of a party," Emma commented as she joined Regina next to the counter. "I've talked to a few people and I felt I was being analyzed in everything I did or said."

"That would be an accurate description of what they do," Regina sighed. "I'm sorry I invited you. It's already boring enough knowing everyone here, I can't imagine how it must be for you."

Emma shrugged, "It's fine. I was with Henry almost all the time so I had fun playing with the chocolate fountain." Regina opened her eyes wide and Emma was quick to try to correct, "I mean the vegetable fountain?"

"I told Zelena the fountain wasn't a good idea."

"Hey," Emma said, turning to look at her. She wrapped her hands around Regina's waist and smiled, "It's all fine. Midnight is almost here and my offer still stands."

"I appreciate it but I don't think your friends will like one of their bosses partying with them after the clock strikes 12 on New Year's Eve. Besides, it's _your_  time to have fun."

"Well, Ruby actually is dating one of the bosses," Emma pointed out.

" _Former_  boss," Regina corrected. Then, she shrugged and shook her head with a smile. "It's okay. I go through this every year; I'm used to it."

"For the record, I don't believe you," Emma declared. "But if that's what you want, then okay."

The blonde leaned in slowly, giving Regina time in case she wanted to stop her, but she didn't and their lips met halfway. It meant to be a reassuring kiss from Emma, but when Regina slid her tongue inside her mouth, Emma pressed her against the counter.

They heard the bottle wavering on the edge, but luckily for them it stayed in place while Regina's hands kneaded Emma's ass through the clothes. Emma moaned in the brunette's mouth, leaning into the touch as she pushed Regina further against the cool surface. She could feel the other woman's nipples through the clothes and groaned at it.

Soon her hands were all over Regina, touching her like if it would be the last time, and the brunette didn't hesitate to do the same. They panted and moaned softly with the background sound of people chatting and a soft music. Later, Emma would bee too embarrassed to admit how fast she had come under Regina's skilled fingers, but if she was fair, the mere sight of Regina in that dress had been enough to set all her senses on fire.

Emma leaned her head against Regina's shoulder as she recovered her breath. "And I thought I would have to wait for next year for this," she joked once her lungs allowed her.

Regina chuckled and kissed her temple before pulling back. "Don't you get tired of making jokes?"

"Mmm…no. How could I get tired of your laugh when I tell them?" Still in the post orgasm haze, Emma didn't register her words until she heard herself. She looked, hoping it wasn't too much too soon.

Regina smiled as she rolled her eyes and pointed a finger at Emma. "You, Miss Swan, know how to charm your way out of any situation."

"Well, some people would call me Princess Charming," she snickered with relief.

"If that makes me Snow White, I'll pass," Regina said walking away, towards the door. "Midnight will be soon. We should get ready."

But as soon as she opened the door, they found Henry walking right towards them. "Mom," he said with relief all over his face. He walked closer and looked up when he got to Regina's side, "I'm sleepy." He yawned as if to give emphasis and blinked.

Regina's hand cupped his face while she smiled and then turned to Emma. "How would you like to skip this party for a while?"

"Very much, thank you."

Emma picked up Henry, since he was too tired to even keep his eyes open and Regina's dress wasn't ideal to carry him, and they walked through the guests while Regina dipped her head and even talked to some of them.

When they crossed a door at the end of a hallway, they arrived to an elevator, which they took to go up. It led them right to a huge bedroom with an equally huge bed. Regina walked out first, leading Emma to the bed.

"You can leave him here to rest," she whispered. Emma obliged and carefully left Henry on the mattress. Regina took her spot next to the bed to tuck him in. Emma saw a door that led to the bathroom and took the chance to wash her hands and fix her hair and lipstick, giving mother and son some privacy.

From there, she could barely hear the murmurs through the half open door, but she did hear when Henry asked in a sleepy tiny voice, "Mom, is Emma my new mom?"

"What?" she heard Regina say.

"You kiss and hold hands and spend a lot of time together."

There was a beat before Regina answered. "I don't know Henry, would you like that?"

"Mmmhm," Emma heard and assumed he was nodding. "I like her. She makes us laugh until my belly hurts and you always smile."

"I guess I do," Regina quietly said.

Emma heard a yawn. "Good night mom."

"Good night, Henry," she whispered and Emma could tell by her voice she was smiling. "Happy New Year."

The room fell silent and Emma realised she had just stood there behind the door listening to the conversation. She stayed for a little longer, not wanting to go out just when they finished, and when she did Regina was sitting on the bed looking at Henry. The brunette raised her gaze to look at Emma and the smile she already had on her face widened if only a little.

"I thought the sink had swallowed you," she whispered to not to wake up Henry.

Emma raised her hand and put her index finger and thumb together. "I escaped by this bit."

Regina rolled her eyes and stood up to join Emma at the elevator door. Suddenly the background noise of downstairs and the whole city went quiet for a second before bursting into cheers.

"I think that would mark midnight," Regina deducted.

"Hurry, hurry Cinderella," Emma sang with a smug smile.

Regina really tried to contain the eye roll but by then it was impossible. She reached for Emma's hand and tugged, bringing her against her body and kissed her without a word, her free hand tangling in beautifully curled golden hair.

When they parted, still tasting each other on their tongues, the elevator door opened and Regina leaned her forehead against Emma's. "That song doesn't even happen when the clock strikes 12."

"Smartass," Emma breathed against her lips before capturing them again.

* * *

Emma regretted many things from her life. So many she couldn't even count them if she was asked to. Choosing her job wasn't one of them. She had ended up in college with a scholarship for Advertising Communication because it was the only degree with a place for another student. In the end, Emma had finished the degree with honors. That's why she loved when she came back to work on Monday after the holidays. That and not the fact that she worked with Regina. Obviously that didn't matter.

And obviously her heart didn't melt when she arrived to her desk that morning to find a superhero envelope which contained a greeting Christmas card signed by both Regina and Henry.

Obviously.

Emma smiled at the gift and wondered if her own greeting card had arrived at Regina's desk as well. She had sent it on Thursday, before the party, so it should be with the brunette by then. She was sliding the envelope into her bag when David appeared, leaning on the cubicle.

"Hey Miss Shots," he greeted her with a smile. "How's the hangover?"

"It is only a memory, thanks to a full day of sleeping and coffee," she said lifting her cup of coffee. She pulled out one for him and handed it to him.

"Ah, life saver. Thanks." He took a sip and closed his eyes. "Regina was just here, by the way. She was walking around your desk. Perhaps she wanted something from you?"

Emma held back the smile and tried to keep a straight face. "Did she? I will go up to see what she wanted then."

"Good luck with the tiger," he said over his shoulder as he walked away. "And come to see me when you're done. I want to show you some ideas."

"Sure thing," Emma saluted, opening her laptop. She was just buying time to go up and see Regina, and also deep down her mind was going through the conversation she had heard in the party.

Henry has laid on the table a huge proposal and Regina hadn't completely refused to it. Of course, Regina didn't know Emma had heard them, but the idea was already in both minds and it was impossible not to think about it. They have been officially dating barely a month; they didn't even get each other a present for Christmas by silent agreement. They were still testing waters and become a family all of the sudden was a big step. The idea both terrified and excited Emma, but she pushed all away whenever it popped up in her mind.

After a while, she went up to see Regina, but when she knocked and opened the door slightly to poke a head inside, she saw a man sitting across Regina's desk. Both he and Regina looked up to meet Emma's gaze, and both of them smiled. And both faces Emma recognised.

"I'm sorry," she said already starting to leave. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's okay, Miss Swan," Regina assured, inviting her in with her hand. "Actually I was talking to Mr. Jones about our brilliant minds and what a better example."

Emma closed the door behind her and approached the desk. The man stood up, fixing his jacket and held out a hand. "Emma. It's lovely to see you again," he drawled his words.

Before Emma could talk, Regina, standing up too, tilted her head. "You two already know each other?"

"We met briefly at a Christmas party in the suburbs," Emma explained, retreating her hand from the shake.

"What a nice coincidence to find you here," Killian said, but Emma's lying detector yelled at her he was lying. She smiled politely and looked over at Regina, whose eyebrow was arched. "I would like to sign the contract now," he continued.

"But we haven't even talked about the terms and conditions of the contract," Regina frowned.

He took a seat, leaving the two women standing up, and leaned back on the chair flashing a toothy smile. "It won't be necessary. I think I've found the company that matches the best for my interests."


	14. Chapter 14

"Emma, slow down," Ruby ordered from the bathroom stall. Emma was leaning on the sinks, her arms crossed on her chest as she bit her nails. The sound of Ruby flushing the toilet broke the silence before she opened the door, still zipping up her skirt. "Start from the beginning because I don't understand a thing you're telling me."

Ruby leaned to wash her hands while Emma turned next to her. "I heard Henry asking Regina if I was his new mom."

"What?" Ruby asked looking up to meet Emma's gaze on the mirror. "You should definitely have started there."

"I told you."

"Uh, no. You told me you had heard a conversation you were not supposed to hear," Ruby reminded her, shaking her hands to dry them. She turned to Emma and, as she dried her hands on her skirt, she inquired. "What did she say?"

"Nothing really?" Emma shrugged. "She didn't out right deny it, but she didn't say yes either. When I came back she was kind of zoned out."

"And that scares you?" Ruby carefully asked, placing her hands on her waist. She knew for a fact if Emma loved something it was running away from commitment, and maybe she liked Henry, but becoming his mother was a whole new level.

Emma crossed her arms again and came back to the position she was before. "Not really? I don't know, I haven't give it much thought but the more time passes, the more I feel like it's a big elephant in the room waiting to be addressed. And then there's this guy."

"What guy?" Ruby wondered, raising an eyebrow.

Emma shook her head and grimaced. "No, it's not a  _guy._ It's that creepy dude at Granny's party. The one that offered me a drink, remember?"

"Vaguely so." They had been taking shots since 9pm, so that party was a little of a blur. "Wait, the one that asked about your job?"

"Yeah, that one. I come into Regina's office and he's here, sitting on the chair and talking to her about hiring us. And do you know what he did?"

"What?" Ruby asked, although suspecting the answer.

"He did! He saw me and he was all 'what a coincidence to find you here, I'm signing the contract', so weird," Emma shook her head. "I think he was lying about the coincidence."

Ruby's eyebrows knitted together. "And what does this have to do with Regina?"

"Nothing," Emma deadpanned. "I just wanted to tell you in case I'm found murdered by a stalker."

Ruby took a step forward and placed her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Don't worry about the Regina thing. She will tell you when she's ready and you don't have to have an answer right away. Just remember you're always allowed to be wrong. I'll be here for you whatever happens."

Emma's lips twitched in a little smile and nodded slightly.

"As for the stalker, if he ever oversteps a line, I'll be here to send him to the hospital. And I'm sure all your friends will be here too." She paused and raised an eyebrow. "Not that you need defence. One good hook at his jaw and he'll be KO."

Emma burst in laughter and Ruby smiled, hugging her. "Thank you," the blonde whispered into her friend's hair.

They pulled apart, an arm away to look at each other. "Just enjoy it, Ems. I mean you got one hell of a catch," Ruby said biting her lips. Emma slapped her arm playfully and the brunette raised her arms in defence, laughing.

* * *

Emma took Ruby's advice and tried to let the issue go. She was happy with Regina and she just let things flow. Christmas decoration was put down and things came back to normal. Soccer on Tuesdays and Thursdays when she didn't stay late at the office, dates with Regina on Fridays and time with Henry on the weekend. It had become almost like a routine and one night, after going out to the cinema, they decided to have a glass of wine at Regina's.

They were on the second bottle when the clock struck 1 in the morning. "Shit," Emma swore when she glanced at it. "It's late. I'm sorry, you must be tired."

She started to rise from the couch, untucking her leg from beneath her body and feeling the cramps shooting down her leg. A hand on hers stopped her and, when Emma turned, her eyes met Regina's. The grip was gentle, almost feather-like, and the message was clear in chocolate brown orbits, but still Regina whispered.

"Stay."

And that's how Emma had spent the night in Regina's large bed, cuddling the brunette in one of the corners and leaving more than half of the mattress empty. Their bodies were naked; they had been too tired to dress again after tracing lines on each other with their tongues.

An insistent horn and the sound of an ambulance driving through Regina's street was what woke her up. The first thing she felt was the smell of Regina's shampoo brushing her nostrils. A finger lazily drawing fingers on her hand, placed in Regina's stomach, was the second thing she felt.

The warmth in her chest was the third.

Regina turned in bed when she felt Emma shifting in the bed and greeted her with sleepy eyes and a lazy smile. "Good morning." Her voice was raspy; from the deep moans she tried to hold the night before and had erupted in her throat or from the early morning, Emma didn't know.

"Amazing morning," Emma whispered, her voice still adapting too, as she returned the grin.

"Flatterer," Regina rolled her eyes but curled up closer. "How did you sleep?"

Emma stretched her back and a moan reverberated in her throat. "So good," she smiled when she laid down again. "You?"

"So good," she repeated with a teasing smirk. In the stretching motion, the sheets had slid down Emma's torso and Regina's eyes travelled down her neck to shamelessly check her out.

Emma noticed the dilated pupils before Regina leaned forward to press her lips against the blonde's. She answered with the same eagerness and, at some point, Regina moved to hover over Emma. Hands flew, squeezed and pressed while soft moans travelled from mouth to mouth through their ragged breaths.

Regina sneaked a leg between Emma's and landed her whole body down, pressing against the blonde's thigh to gain some friction. In a sudden move, Emma raised her leg and brought Regina forward, swallowing the gasp in her mouth with a kiss.

They rocked their bodies against each other, but this time it was slower. Regina's forehead fell upon Emma's and the brunette closed her eyes. Emma, however, kept them open. She had witnessed Regina's face many times by then, but this time it felt different. Their moves were gentler and slower, still in the morning haze. A halo of slumber still hovered over them with the chill air and the sun that was starting to bring light into the room behind the clouds.

Regina's hands found Emma's and brought them above the blonde's mane, holding them tight as she rode both of them to the orgasm. Emma felt the tingle building up inside her, spreading through her body. It was when the orgasm ripped through her body that she figured out why it was different that time from the others.

It was cosy. It was familiar. It was a life with Regina Mills; waking up to her smile and morning lazy sex. It was a kiss on her forehead before Regina collapsed over her body. It was  _home_.

After a while, Regina moved from above her body and Emma felt the loss of warmth immediately. The brunette kissed her cheek and stretched next to her before sitting up. She got up of the bed with the elegance of a cat, her curves outlined by the sun rays.

"It looks like it's not going to rain today. What do you think about going for a walk with Henry?" she asked, passing a hand through her hair to fix the mess. "We can bring the kite."

"Sure," Emma agreed, her eyes still glued to the other woman's figure.

Regina turned and smirked, raising an eyebrow, when she saw Emma still lying down. "Are you going to be in bed all morning?" Emma rolled her eyes and Regina chuckled, turning to the bathroom.

After a moment, Emma heard the sound of the water running in the shower and Regina emerged from the bathroom, leaning on the door. "Are you coming or what?"

Smirking, Emma jumped from the bed and joined Regina, giving her a kiss before they entered the shower.

* * *

Emma didn't have any clothes, except for the ones she had wore the night before, so she borrowed Regina some jeans and a blouse. When they entered the kitchen, Regina pressed a button of the coffee machine and it sputtered to life, instantly spilling coffee into a pot.

"I should get one of those," Emma said as she took a seat on the table, still looking at the machine.

Regina pulled out two mugs and set them on the table, taking a seat next to her, at the head of the small table. "Emma, can I ask you a question?"

"If it's if I like my coffee with sugar, then yes please. 3 pumps," Emma quipped. She waited until Regina's eyes rolled to the back of her head to nod, "Of course you can."

There was hesitation and Emma could feel it in the way Regina rearranged the mugs in front of her. "You're always saying I have a lot of money and expensive clothes, toys, gadgets and I couldn't help but notice that you barely have anything in your house. I know for a fact how much you get paid every month and it's more than what you would need to live how you live."

She paused and Emma waited, but the only sound in the room was the coffee machine. "So, the question…?"

"What I mean is that you have enough money to buy this machine. You don't give yourself to fancies although you could," Regina considered out loud. There was still no question, but Emma guessed she was asking for a reason.

The coffee machine shut down and the kitchen fell silent. She shrugged. "I was used to live with nothing."

"But you deserve everything," Regina whispered, reaching for her hand but not quite meeting her eyes.

"I have what I need," Emma smiled. "Besides, I  _do_ treat myself. I've got the PlayStation."

Regina softly laughed and before she could say anything else, Emma kissed her, squeezing her hand to let her know it was all good. They only parted when a few feets away from them, they heard, "Ew."

They whipped their heads to find Henry at the door, brushing his eyes, his sleeves falling too long for his little arms. He took a seat on the other side of Regina, climbing the chair, while the women laughed.

Regina stood up to pick up the coffee pot and also some juice from the fridge. "Henry, would you like to go play out with the kite today?" she asked while she put two slices of bread on the toaster.

He turned to look at her and nodded energetically. "Yes!" He was on his knees, looking at his mother, but turned again to face Emma. "Are you coming too? I want to show you a new trick I learned."

"Sure kid," Emma smiled. Regina placed the toasts in front of Henry, who sat and his mother pushed the chair forwards so he could reach the plate without staining his pyjamas on the process.

They fell into what it seemed like a routine conversation for Regina and Henry about what he had done with the babysitter the evening before while they ate breakfast. They included Emma, talking about the G rated version of the movie they had seen. When they finished, Emma offered to clean up the table while Regina helped Henry get dressed for the day.

When they came back to the kitchen, Emma was drying her hands and turned to find them all ready to go. Henry was wearing a yellow raincoat and Emma stifled a laugh. "He looks like he's starring in a horror film. A red balloon and voilá," she whispered Regina while they put their coats.

Regina shushed her. "It's his favourite coat."

"Let's just hope he doesn't look into a drain," Emma murmured, chuckling at her own joke and earning a roll of eyes from Regina while they left the apartment.

* * *

The weather rebelled and, against Regina's prediction, it started raining after a while. They folded the kite and, since they were closer to Emma's than to Regina's, they decided to walk to her apartment under the umbrella Regina had brought, surprising Emma.

"I thought you had said it wouldn't rain today?" she asked, snuggling closer when the drops fell on her face. Her beanie was wet and it felt heavy on her head. In front of them, Henry was playing with the puddles, the hoodie of his yellow raincoat covering his head.

"Rule number two of a mother: always be prepared," Regina recited.

"What's number one?" Emma wondered, looking at her.

Regina smiled and looked at Henry, "Love them no matter what."

Emma's lips drew a smile on her face as well, inevitably thinking of how soft Regina was when it came to her son. A thought came to her mind and she asked, "What if your son ends up being a criminal? Rule number one still applies?"

Regina glared at her, raising an eyebrow. "I was trying to make it nice, Emma."

"Okay, okay," the blonde laughed and nodded. "Did you always want to be a mother? Because you're really good at it," she praised.

"Not really. Actually, Henry wasn't planned," she revealed.

"Accidental pregnancy?" Emma asked carefully, aware of the change in the air that the intimacy created beneath the umbrella.

Regina shook her head. "My mother had always been oppressive, both with me and Zelena. My sister was born from another father, so she was kind of always left aside, but me? I was the promise of the family. They expected me to get to places, to even join politics and even get to be president some day."

Emma remained quiet, listening to Regina while she opened her heart. The brunette's eyes were fixed on the floor, like if she was reading the story written in the street walk.

"I only wanted to study advertising and, after years of fighting, I finally got to get free and went to college. I put some distance between my family and I, except from Zelena, and after that experience being a mother wasn't really in my future." She paused and when she continued Emma almost didn't hear her. "I think I was afraid I ended up like my mother."

Emma wanted to tell her she was the best mother she had ever seen, and she had lived with quite a few. But still remained silent, waiting for Regina to finish.

"I dove into my job, trying to get higher, better. Then I started to date Daniel. He was good to me, but he wanted a family and I wasn't ready yet. Still, he convinced me to start seeing a doctor to plan it, only for the future he said." Regina glanced down and sighed. "After a few weeks we discovered I couldn't have children. It was a big deal for him and although we still tried to keep together, I felt he was becoming more and more distant until we broke up."

Emma glanced at Henry with a frown. If Regina couldn't have kids….

"He's adopted," Regina finished her thought. "I wasn't planning on it but during a work trip, there was a fire in the hotel I was staying in. A few people died, Henry's parents included. He was just a baby when the fire fighters found him, crying in the room. I offered to take are of him for a couple of days until they filled the papers to put him on the system. By the time it was all ready, I had already grew fond of him, so I adopted him. It's been the two of us ever since."

"That…is…You're amazing," Emma breathed. Lots of thoughts were flooding her mind, but she couldn't bring herself to articulate how amazed she was by Regina's story. "Henry is really lucky to have you in his life. And so do I," she added with a blush.

"You love to exaggerate," Regina shrugged. "Henry knows. I didn't want him to grow up living a lie."

"That's very honourable," Emma admitted. "I still don't know what happened to my parents so I guess knowing it helps you."

They arrived to Emma's apartment and they called for Henry. It was the first time he went there and Emma hoped she had left it at least clean enough to make a good impression. Thankfully, when she opened the door, it was so she inwardly patted her past self on her back.

After a while, hunger started to kick in, but Emma realised she didn't have anything eatable on her house, so she proposed to order a pizza. Regina, however, wasn't happy with that choice, so she proposed to go to the nearest grocery store and cook something. Henry and Emma didn't really stand a chance against Regina, so they all ended up picking up a cart at the grocery store.

Henry kept putting all kinds of sugary food into the cart, while Regina kept putting them out. While the brunette studied the vegetables she needed to cook the recipe she had in mind, Emma and Henry started to play tag around the store. When the blonde caught Henry, he was laughing so hard he had to hold his belly. She picked him up and carried him on her back, approaching Regina.

"Mooom, are we done?" Henry asked. "I'm hungry."

"I would go a lot faster if I didn't have to keep an eye on you two." She finally decided for the vegetables and grabbed a plastic bag.

"She's grumpy because she's hungry too," Henry whispered into Emma's ear, making her giggle. Regina rolled her eyes and threw the bag into the cart.

"Okay, we got everything. Let's go," she stated.

After paying for everything, they came back to Emma's and this time they helped Regina cooking, turning on some music on the background to swallow the sound of rain. When they finished lunch, Henry asked Emma to teach him how to play with her game console and she chose the most innocent game she had, one that didn't involve killing other players, just in case she earned a glare from Regina. In the end, Emma taught both of them and watched them play with a smile on her face. It was that rainy day, after spending so many time with them, when Emma glanced over at Regina and realised she liked that. A lot.

And it was that moment, when Regina's eyes met hers and she smiled at the blonde over Henry's head, when Emma realised that she loved Regina.

* * *

Emma couldn't wait to talk to Ruby about her latest revelation. She had waited until Monday to tell her, leaving the rest of the weekend to gather her thoughts about the matter. She still had to wait to lunch to be able to see her friend, since she had a meeting with the creative team about Mr. Jones' campaign.

When she arrived to the meeting room, expecting to find Regina there, she was disappointed when she found Killian instead, sitting back with his boots on the table. He lowered them to the floor when he saw her and rushed to the door to greet her.

"Swan, it's a pleasure to see you again," he said with a side smile.

Her colleagues entered the room and she returned the smile politely but wishing to step away from him. He was the boss of a big company that dealt with most of the fish market, and although he worked on the office, he always smelled like fish.

They took a seat around the table and discussed the details of the campaign, specifying what Killian wanted and what they could offer. When it was finished, and before she could leave the room, he assaulted her again standing by her side.

"You really are one of the best around here. Regina wasn't wrong about that," he said.

"Uh, thanks," she murmured gathering her things to leave. "She's rarely wrong."

She turned to walk away, but he blocked her way. "Actually I was wondering if we could meet some time to talk further about this. I think your mind is brilliant and I would love to listen all the interesting stuff you have to say."

"We can arrange a meeting if you want to. I'll talk to my team and we'll communicate you when we decide to see if you're free," she said.

"I meant a private meeting," he clarified, lowering his voice. "Like a date."

"Oh," Emma stopped. "Uhm, I don't think that would be very much professional."  _Says the one dating her boss,_  a little voice whispered in the back of her head.

He looked disappointed but he seemed to recover himself, smiling at her again. "Well, in that case I'll keep in touch with you to arrange that meeting. If you ever change your mind, my offer still stands."

"Thank you, but no," she repeated. He took a long look at her face one more time before stepping aside to let her go. Emma rushed out of the room, taking a breath of fresh air. She thought she would vomit if she stood next to him for one more minute.

* * *

Emma texted Ruby to ask her if she was okay for lunch, and when she got the positive response, she stood up and grabbed her wallet before heading towards the elevator. When it arrived, the little arrow pointing up lightened up, and Emma was heading down, but she didn't really care. The doors opened and when she raised her head to step inside, she saw Zelena and a man whose face was familiar to her.

"Emma!" the red haired smiled when she saw her. She leaned to give her two kisses on her cheeks, "It's lovely to see you again."

"Yeah, I'm getting that a lot today," Emma murmured.

Zelena frowned at it for a second before shaking her head and waved her hand. "I'm not sure if you met Robin here at the New Year's Eve party?" she asked pointing at Robin, who smiled politely.

"I don't think I had the pleasure. I have heard about you though. Emma Swan, right?" he wondered offering a hand. Emma took it and shook it, nodding. "I'm Robin Woods, but everyone calls me Robin Hood."

"He's in charge of the largest archery company in the city," Zelena informed her. "Maybe you've heard of it? It's Bows&Arrows."

"Original," Emma deadpanned. The other occupants of the elevator laughed and Robin nodded.

"I asked my son for a name and he came up with that. It was so simple that I instantly loved it," he explained with a smile.

Zelena turned to Robin. "How's Roland?"

His face changed a little and the smile faltered. "He's with Marian this week. It's her turn."

"Oh," Zelena falsely pouted at him before changing her expression to a smile. "Well, when he is back to you, he can meet Henry. I bet they will have a lot of fun together, especially if they end up being half brothers."

"What?" Emma asked all of the sudden, but it went unheard by them.

Robin scratched the back of his head and smiled, "Well, we shouldn't jump into conclusions just yet. Regina and I have only seen each other once."

Zelena slapped his chest and laughed softly. "That's why she'll love this surprise. I can't wait to see her face when she sees you again. Besides, I confess I watched you two while you were talking during the party and I swear she wouldn't stop looking around, trying to find a place for you two to be alone," she added with a wink.

The elevator bell chimed and it stopped abruptly before the doors opened. "See you around, Emma! Keep it up," Zelena said over her shoulder.

Robin smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, Emma."

Both of them exited the elevator and Emma didn't say a word. She watched them walking away down the hallway and when the doors closed, she still didn't move. She hadn't pressed the floor she was heading to, so the elevator didn't move either.

What had she missed?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that Roland is a lot younger than Henry in canon, but at this point who cares about the show.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How are you still bearing with me and my late updates? I will try to go a little faster next time, I swear. Thanks to all the people who comment regularly. I see you, I love you. I love those who don't comment regularly too. Enjoy!

Lunch was Emma's favourite time of the day. She usually met her friends or only Ruby to catch up with her, telling her the latest updates. She had been very excited that day to go talk to her, but when Emma left the elevator, she was no longer in the mood.

Ruby joined her and pressed the button of the lobby to go down, asking her about her weekend, but Emma only answered in one word sentences or elaborated the least she could. They hadn't ordered yet when Ruby crossed her arms.

"What's going on?" she asked, tired of her friend's attitude.

"Nothing," Emma murmured before making her order. "Big fries?"

"Yes." Ruby handed her some bills to pay. "Are you gonna talk to me with more than two words?"

"Of course not. That's 3," she joked without joy. She didn't even smile smugly at it as they took a seat.

"Emma," Ruby insisted.

The blonde sighed and glanced away. "I just don't really wanna talk right now. Why don't you tell me how was your weekend? I would love to hear about it."

Ruby stared at her friend and bit her lip. Something was bothering, that much was clear, and she hadn't seen Emma like that since one of her foster families had rejected her. Ruby deduced it would probably be related to Regina, but she knew better than to push her friend, so she started to tell her about her weekend.

Emma listened and even offered some feedback, nodding and asking at the right places, but at the same time her mind was trying to remember the party at Zelena's. She remembers that she had interrupted them to take Regina away, mentioning a business man. After that, she had lost track of her until she had found her girlfriend in the kitchen. Had Regina been with that Robin all night?

"…don't you think?" Ruby asked, pulling Emma out of her thoughtful haze.

"Huh?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Were you even listening to me?"

"I was. I swear. Just…not the last part," Emma said glancing down. "I'm sorry. I'm a bit off today."

"Yeah, no kidding." Ruby leaned in and reached for Emma's hand, looking at her with worried eyes. "Seriously. What's wrong?"

"I…have a lot on my mind," Emma answered carefully. She still wasn't sure about anything, so she preferred to keep it to herself for now. "But I agree with you. You can never leave Mary Margaret alone with a bird nest," she smirked.

Ruby returned the smile and arched an eyebrow. "You were listening."

"Of course I was. Now let's go. I gotta finish some stuff," Emma said standing up. Ruby kept talking, telling her about how she had a bird house now set up in her house thanks to their friend, while Emma's mind kept going about the elevator incident.

They were arriving to the building's doors when they opened and Regina emerged with her sister. Zelena was holding Regina's arm and looked like she was telling her a long story, because when brown eyes met Emma's, the relief was clear in them.

"Emma," she smiled when they met in the door. Zelena turned to see what was the reason of the interruption and smiled at the blonde before coming back to her sister. Zelena dragged her away, but Regina's eyes followed Emma and silently asked her to meet later.

"Who was that red haired lioness?" Ruby wondered, following them with her gaze.

"That's Regina's sister. Zelena."

They called for the elevator and the doors opened. "Man, that family has the hottest genes," she tsked before they went in.

* * *

Emma dove into her work more than ever, trying to get her mind off Robin. After a whole day, she decided she wouldn't jump into conclusion without talking to Regina. It was useless to picture her with Robin, playing with their children. They did have that in common, and Emma and Regina didn't have that, but as far as the blonde knew, Henry liked her and that was a deal breaker for Regina.

After almost 4 hours of designing and writing, Emma called it for the day, stretching on her chair. She was closing her laptop when her phone vibrated on her desk. She unlocked it and read Mulan's text asking her if she was okay for a run at the park later that day. Before she answered, she picked up her bag and bottle of water and took a sip, heading towards the elevator. She pressed the button once, then pressed it again when the light didn't turn on. It kept its light off and Emma frowned.

She pressed again, harder this time when the door opened. "I'm starting to really worry about your hatred against buttons," Regina tried to deadpan, but she couldn't conceal the smile that sneaked its way out.

Emma rolled her eyes and joined her inside. "I swear this time it doesn't work."

"I'll inform maintenance before you break it even more," Regina half joked. She waited until the doors were closed to turn towards Emma. "I have been tried to talk to you all day but Zelena is restless. Sometimes I wonder if she was cursed to never stop talking. Maybe  _I_ was cursed."

"Yeah, we briefly chatted this morning. I found her and Robin before lunch," Emma informed her subtly, looking at her.

"Oh." Regina glanced down with a roll of eyes. "That's my sister's doing. Don't listen to whatever she told you."

"She actually seemed pretty convinced that you two would hit it off after meeting at the New Year's Party." Emma shrugged and glanced at Regina. "She said you were very into him. I was kind of shocked, to be honest."

Regina took a step forward and rounded Emma's waist with her arms. "If you must know, he is a nice man, but very uninteresting. We talked for a while about the party and he told me about his business, but all I could think about was about looking for an excuse to leave to get a glass of wine."

"It's okay. I guess it just took me by surprise."

"Did you get jealous?" Regina teased.

Emma remained quiet for a beat before shrugging again, "Maybe a little, but I was waiting to talk to you before jumping to conclusion."

Regina smiled and kissed her cheek. "There's no conclusion to jump to."

"Cool," Emma finally smiled, relieved, after looking into brown eyes to scan any sign that there was something wrong and finding none.

The doors opened and they separated immediately, nodding at the people who were waiting for them to come out. They walked together for a while in silence until they left the building and came out to the city's noise. From their street they could hear the sound of a drill digging a hole in another block not too far from them.

"Are you doing anything today?" Regina asked while she scanned the traffic to spot an empty taxi.

"Oh!" Emma raised her hand to her forehead and pulled out her phone to answer Mulan, hoping it wasn't too late. "Yes, I think I'm going for a run with Mulan."

"Ruby's friend?" Regina wondered, trying to remember what Emma had told her about her friends.

Emma nodded, pressing send on her phone. "Yeah, a body like this can't keep it up out of thin air," she joked.

Regina raised an eyebrow and smirked, "In case you need more exercise, give me a call."

The blonde could feel the heat on her body answering to Regina's teasing before her brain could register it. She bit her lip, "Don't worry. I won't hesitate to do it."

Dipping her head to hide the blush on her cheeks, Regina raised her arm. A taxi instantly stopped next to them and she opened the door. "Emma?" she called before the blonde left. Emma turned and Regina smiled. "Thank you for choosing to talk to me instead of throw up a scene about Robin."

Emma returned the smile and shrugged, shifting her weight from leg to leg. "I trust you."

"I trust you too."

"I know," Emma said honestly. She could feel Regina trusted her the minute they met. She didn't know why or how it happened because from what she had learned about Regina, the brunette didn't trust people easily, but Emma was thankful it was that way and her feelings were mutual.

With one more exchange of smiles, Regina entered the taxi and closed the door while Emma turned on her heels to walk the other direction. She pulled out her phone to read Mulan's confirmation and then texted Ruby.

**I'm going to the park later for a run with Mulan. Wanna join us?**

_Don't you know you're talking to the sofa potato?_

**Yeah, it was just in case you had a change of heart.**

_Nope. Still lazy. I would join you for a match later at yours though._

**You should really get your own playstation.**

_Why would I do that if I can use yours?_

Emma was about to put her phone down as she took out the subway ticket when it buzzed again.

_Everything better now?_

**Yeah. All a misunderstanding. I'll tell you later.**

_Nice!_

With a smile, Emma checked the time for the next train before rushing to the platform to catch the next one.

* * *

When Emma arrived, Mulan was already stretching, leaning on a railing with her head down. Emma approached her quietly and jumped when she was next to her, startling her friend.

"Jesus Emma, I'm going to buy you a sleigh bell," she sighed while the blonde laughed.

"You always fall for it," she kept laughing.

Nudging Emma's arm, Mulan tried to act upset but she couldn't stop the laughter. "Whatever. I was stretching, then we can go."

Emma nodded and joined her while they made small talk. The sky was dark, with clouds covering most of it, but luckily it wasn't raining and Emma hoped it wouldn't rain while they were running because she hadn't brought a jacket. When they were done, they started to run through the park, chatting about Mulan's latest ideas for the gallery.

"I know that you're more of a free soul, but your work would be very useful at Thero," Emma said when they stopped at a bench to stretch and drink some water.

"Actually I almost end up working like you for an advertising company, but in the last moment I thought fuck it, you know? With my own gallery I can make my own art and if people like it, good, if not then I can keep it," Mulan shrugged.

"You're too deep," Emma laughed without malice.

Mulan rolled her eyes and punched the blonde's arm with a grin. "What about you? What's happening in your life?"

"What's not happening," Emma puffed.

They walked towards the lake and Mulan wiggled her eyebrows, "And your secret girl?"

Emma couldn't help but to smile at the thought of Regina. "It's good. I don't want to sound all cheesy but it just feels so good. Like today there was this misunderstanding and we talked about it and it was nothing. It's so easy with her."

"For the record, you sound all cheesy," Mulan pointed, laughing when Emma shot her a glare. "But it sounds amazing. I wish I had something like that."

"It's never too late."

"Actually, can I ask you for advice?" Mulan asked, biting her lip. They had met not too long ago, but Emma could easily tell that she was nervous about sharing what she was about to say, so she nodded.

"Of course, but I can't assure you it will be the best advice," she joked to lighten the mood, earning a chuckle from the other girl.

"So there's this one girl that I like. A lot," she started to explain, looking at the swans in the lake. "I think I like her too, but like there's no way of knowing it and I don't want to risk our friendship."

"Do I know this girl?" Emma asked raising an eyebrow and imagining who it might be.

Mulan shrugged and shook her hear slightly, "Maybe, I don't know who you know." Emma held back a smile at the blush on her friend's face and decided to play along.

"Okay, so you think you like her? Why?"

"Because of the way she acts towards me, it gives me that vibe and it's not only me. It has happened that someone else has asked about us."

"Someone else," Emma repeated.

Mulan nodded shyly and raised her eyebrows, finally looking up at her. "So? What's your advice?"

"Well, if you are sure she's into women, then I would give it a shot," Emma said. "I mean if you really think she likes you and you've been feeling that for a while now, maybe she's just waiting for you to take a step forward and say 'hey, I like you', you know?"

"Yeah," Mulan nodded, a frown appearing on her forehead as she thought about it. "Maybe that's what I should do."

Emma shrugged as she started to walk to go back, "But it's your choice. If you're comfortable the way you are and can wait a little longer, the do it. But my advice is to go for it."

"It's a bold move," Mulan chuckled nervously, probably as she thought about the possible scenarios.

Emma nudged her shoulder and smiled encouragingly, "And you are brave. Maybe I don't know her, but I get a feeling she will feel the same towards you."

Mulan's smile widened a little and nodded, "I hope so."

Pulling out her phone to check the time, Emma opened the texts from Ruby telling her she was already on her way to the blonde's apartment. She quickly answered, but before she put it back, she asked Mulan if she wanted to join them.

"I have some work to do, but call me next time! I'm so going to win you two," she said pointing at Emma. "I'm heading that way; the subway station is closer from here."

Emma nodded. "Sure. And good luck with your girl!"

"Thanks," Mulan grinned. "And thank you for the advice. I will give it a thought."

Waving goodbye, they parted ways, each one towards one different side of the path. Emma was already thinking about the shower she was wishing to take when another text from Ruby came in.

**I bought a box of beer. Hurry the fuck up, I need you.**

Emma answered that she was on her way and another message popped up, this one from Regina.

_My offer still stands._

She was about to answer but before she could, Ruby's conversation beeped again.

**It's a heartbreak emergency. I'm at your place already.**

Emma read it and, instantly knowing what she meant, she answered Regina that she hoped it would still stand the next day because Ruby had an emergency and then she replied Ruby that it would only take her 10 minutes. Her friend never answered, but Regina did.

_I hope everything is alright. See you tomorrow at the office._

She signed the text with a kiss emoji and it looked so uncharacteristically that Emma couldn't help but laugh at the image of Regina picking one of them. She would mention it tomorrow, but for now Emma quickly answered before entering her apartment.

Ruby was on the sofa, drinking from a bottle of beer that was dancing between her fingers. She stood up when she heard the door and Emma noticed the red on her face that matched the dry tears on her cheeks.

"Grab a bottle. We're going to be here a while," she said pointing at the box sitting on the table.

* * *

"But he just flipped out of nowhere?" Emma asked before taking a sip from her own beer. Ruby had told her most of the story, but she had started to cry some time in the middle of the story and Emma wasn't sure she had caught everything correctly.

Ruby nodded and shrugged at the same time. "Out of nowhere. We were picking between pizza and kebab and I chose pizza and suddenly he's all mad because he says I don't love him and whatever. He said that I liked Belle more."

"Do you?" Emma asked.

"Duh I like her, but not  _more_. That's just stupid. We're in an open relationship, he can come to me with the 'you love her more' now. That just doesn't make sense," she explained with her hands. Emma watched the bottle flying from hand to hand, fearing it might fall after one she had taken on the way to her house and another she had drowned in one gulp. "And what the hell? It was just pizza!"

"Maybe he was using that as a metaphor?"

Ruby stared at Emma. "What side are you on? Who cares about metaphors? He was so off the line there."

"He was?" Emma asked with a frown.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded and took a sip. "He started to say things that didn't make sense and then he was just insulting me so I just left. I ain't got no time for that sense of possessiveness."

"Then you deserve so much better than that. Fuck him and whatever he thinks. He is no worthy of your time," Emma said hitting the sofa arm with her hand. "And he better not do anything else to you or else."

Ruby looked at her and laughed for the first time that evening. "Thanks, Ems. I knew I could count on you and your biceps."

Emma raised her arm and pulled out her muscles mockingly, making her friend laugh and shake her head. Then, she raised her bottle of beer. "For you."

"For me," Ruby smiled, touching Emma's bottle with hers. They took a long sip and then Ruby sighed. "What a sucker. He was not that good in bed anyways."

Emma laughed. "I bet."

"Now c'mon, turn that thing on. I'm feeling like murdering some guys in camouflage clothes," Ruby said pointing at the console and opening another bottle of beer.

* * *

It was a quiet day. Everything was fine for Emma. She was deep into her work, going from her desk to David's to discuss some details about some designs and doing some research. She hadn't seen Regina all morning, but a promising e-mail asked her if she was free for lunch. Emma checked with Ruby first, in case her friend needed her, but she was deep into filling some files, so she gave the green light to Regina.

They had only had lunch that day when Regina had wanted to talk and explain herself after disappearing during that week of vacation, so Emma was a little nervous about it. They had had meals together before, but none during their working hours, so they had to be careful to not be seen since it was still a secret.

When she heard the soft beep, she raised her head from the notebook to read the incoming e-mail at the same time her stomach mumbled from hunger.

-

 **From:** Regina Mills (rmillscreative thero. co)

 **To:** Emma Swan (emmaswanteam thero. co)

 **Subject:** Important meeting

_Miss Swan, I was wondering that, taking a look a the clock and registering the hour, you might be aware as of now of it. Considering this perhaps you would like to join me in my office to go over some of your presentations. As I said before, it's past noon and I wouldn't want for you to pass out from hunger, so when you come up we can order from the restaurant across the street._

_-_

Emma read it twice to make sure she understood and laughed out loud at it. She wondered how much time it took Regina to come up with such an elaborated e-mail only to ask her out for lunch.

-

 **From:** Emma Swan (emmaswanteam thero. co)

 **To:** Regina Mills (rmillscreative thero. co)

 **Subject:** Re: Important meeting

_Yes, I'm hungry. I'll be right up in 5._

_-_

**From:** Regina Mills (rmillscreative thero. co)

 **To:** Emma Swan (emmaswanteam thero. co)

 **Subject:** Re: Important meeting

_Subtle._

_-_

Emma rolled her eyes at it and smiled as she gathered her files to make sure she didn't lose any of them before she headed to the elevator. She knocked before she entered the room, but this time Regina was alone. She was behind her desk, wearing her glasses, and Emma knew she was feeling tired.

"Hey, are you free?" the blonde asked approaching the desk.

Regina nodded but kept going over the file she had on her hand with a frown on her forehead. Her glasses slid slightly downwards and Emma smiled. She rounded the desk and slid her hands over Regina's shoulder, leaning her head on the brunette's.

"What are you reading so hard?"

"The briefing for a couple of companies that are interested in hiring us," Regina mumbled still focused on it.

"Shouldn't another department be in charge of that?" Emma wondered, dropping her head to Regina's shoulder.

"It's an important decision." Emma kissed her cheek, then left a trail of soft kisses down her jaw, reaching her neck, and Regina leaned her head slightly to give her more access. "Or you could distract me."

She dropped the briefing on her desk and turned on her chair to look at Emma. "Hey, you told me to come up. I'm hungry," she explained.

"You always are," Regina rolled her eyes. She stood up, giving her a kiss before heading to the door. She opened it and called someone to tell them something before she closed the door. "I hope you like turkey because I ordered 2."

"Uh, yeah sure," Emma shrugged. She watched Regina come back to her chair and waited until she was on her seat before sitting on top of her. "Hey," she smiled.

"Hey." Regina returned the smile. "How's your friend?"

Emma frowned. "What?"

"The heartbreak emergency?"

"Oh," Emma remembered. "Ruby's fine. She just needed to vent to let it go."

"So you're free now?" Regina asked, her lips twitching in the beginning of a smirk.

"I am. Why? Do you have something in mind?" Emma raised an eyebrow, but the conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. They stood up and Regina opened the door to receive a bag of take out. "That was fast."

"I might have ordered before you came up," she explained with an innocent shrug. She laid down the silver plates for them to eat, taking a seat next to each other in front of Regina's desk.

"Actually I wanted to talk to you about something," Regina said after a while as she picked at her plate.

Emma caught the signs of nervousness in her and tilted her head. "Yeah?"

Regina nodded but remained quiet for a little longer, but Emma waited until she raised her head. "I'm leaving tomorrow for a convention across the country."

"You are? That's so cool. Like with designers and stuff?"

"Yes. It's a place to meet new clients and the company wants me to join the other department managers to represent Thero," Regina explained, still picking at her meal.

"Okay, that's awesome!" Emma smiled. "Why are you so nervous?"

Regina glanced away and bit her lip before meeting Emma's eyes again. "I can't bring Henry with me. He would miss almost a week of school and I have to be working all day."

Emma stared at Regina and slowly came to realization. "Oh."

"Yes. I know it's a lot to ask, and you can say no if you want, but I thought perhaps he would like that better than a babysitter," Regina quickly explained, visibly anxious about Emma's response.

"And Zelena?"

"From what you've seen, do you think she would be able to take care of a 5 years old boy for even a day?" Regina wondered, raising her eyebrows sceptically.

Emma nodded. "I can see what you mean." Regina watched her expectantly and finally the blonde shrugged. "Sure, okay. It can be fun."

"Really?" I don't want you to feel pressured. As I said, you can say no," Regina insisted.

"No, it's fine," Emma repeated more confidently this time. "I don't really know what a kid eats, but I can manage. That's why internet exists, right?"

"I'll leave you a menu and you can order the food if you want from a restaurant I know," Regina explained. "And I can give you all the rules. You'll just have to follow them."

"Okay," Emma laughed. "It sounds like I'm going to war, but okay."

Regina left the plate on her desk and slid closer to Emma on her chair. "I can't thank you enough for this, Emma. Really. You're saving me."

"You know it's nothing. You would do the same for me." She paused and tilted her head, "If I had a child."

Regina didn't wait for Emma to leave her empty plate on the desk to launch forward and kiss her. "Wow," the blonde breathed when they finally parted for air. "That was one hell of a thank you."

"There's more from what that came from," Regina smirked.

Emma bit her lip to stop the smile and leaned forward, but in the last moment she stopped and leaned back. "Wait. I don't do this for the sex. I do it because I want to help you."

"I know, Emma."

"Okay, okay," Emma nodded and returned the smirk. "Then we can continue."

* * *

 "Bedtime at 9. He has to be showered and has to eat his dinner. All of it," Regina added shooting a glance at Henry, who lowered his gaze. Apparently it was an issue in their home. "Here's the menu," she continued handing Emma a paper with all the rules and the meals.

Henry tiptoed to get a look at it next to Emma and she lowered it for him to read. He pouted when he read it and crossed his arms.

"I got it. It seems easy," Emma nodded when she read it.

"You have my phone and I wrote the hotel's number in case there is an emergency and I don't answer mine," Regina recited.

"It won't be necessary, Regina. It will be fine," Emma assured to a worried Regina. The brunette nodded but she still didn't seem too convinced, so Emma raised the paper. "It's all in here. I'll follow the rules and Henry will too, right kid?"

He mumbled something under his breath but Emma nudged him and he nodded to confirm it.

"Good," Regina clapped her hands together. She hugged Emma and kissed her goodbye, then kneeled in front of Henry and hugged him tightly. "It will only be a few days. Listen to Emma and be good, okay?"

He nodded and kissed her cheek before she stood up. They were in Emma's apartment, in the middle of the living room. Henry was already wearing his pyjamas, ready to go to bed, but the adults were still wearing their clothes. Regina would spend the night there with Henry to make him easier to adapt. The next day they had planned for Regina to help him get ready and Emma would take him to school, while she stayed and got ready to catch a flight a while later.

They put Henry to bed—Emma's bed since she didn't have a guest room. Luckily, her bed was big enough for the three of them for at least a night. Leaving him there, they took a seat on the kitchen and Regina sighed.

"Are you tired?" Emma asked, pulling out a glass and a bottle of wine she had learned to always have on her fridge.

"Yes," Regina nodded, stretching on her chair. "And there's a lot to come."

"It will be nice, you'll see," Emma assured her, sliding the glass towards her. "But when you come back you have to promise me a night out. Like out out, not just dinner. Out as in shots and shit."

"I'm glad I leave my son with a responsible adult who is already thinking about partying the minute he leaves," Regina joked.

"Ha-ha. I'm serious. We haven't done it and it would be good," Emma insisted.

Regina took her time, sipping from the glass before smiling and dipping her head, "Okay. I promise, but you don't know who you're dealing with. I have a lot of resistance."

Emma lifted her glass and clinked it against Regina's. "We'll see."


	16. Chapter 16

Day 1 of hurricane Henry:

Regina got up earlier than Emma, probably out of anxiety to leave everything ready before she left. When Emma woke up, Henry was already having breakfast while Regina took small sips from a mug that smelled a lot like coffee. Emma took a seat net to Henry, who was deep into his cereals and smoothed down his bed, messy hair.

"Good morning early risers," she smiled.

Regina left a mug for Emma in front of the blonde and kissed her cheek, but she scolded her, "You need to be out of the bed earlier. You have to check Henry is all good before he leaves the place."

Te brunette disappeared behind the bedroom door and Emma turned to look at Henry, who just shrugged before leaving the bowl in the sink like that scene happened a lot in their household.

Morning routines were new to Emma in this context so it was a little chaotic that day until they were all ready to go. Regina, who still had a few hours before she left, was ready too and she waved them goodbye from the front door.

Taking Henry to school was an easy task because Regina had hired a private driver for the rest of the week to get them wherever they wanted to go—"Fancy," Emma had chuckled under Regina's arched eyebrow—and after dropping him off, Emma was on her way to the office.

Not having Regina around meant work was more boring than usual, but she took the chance to go deep into it. She had a few meetings with some of her co-workers and, after a quick lunch with Ruby to catch up about the latest babysitter news, she didn't stop until it was a little before her time to leave.

She left earlier to go pick up Henry, letting the driver take her there. When she arrived she saw a lot of young girls waiting outside, most of them texting or FaceTiming. Emma guessed they were most likely the children's babysitters. It didn't take long though until a children stampede caught everyone's attention.

Emma quickly saw Henry in the middle of the crowd, heading towards her. He didn't say goodbye to anyone, just walked outside and into the car.

"Hey kid, how was your day?" Emma tried in a way to connect with him.

He was looking through the window, his arms crossed, and shrugged, "Okay."

"Are you excited about theatre class?"

This time, Henry half nodded half shook her head and Emma frowned. He clearly wasn't okay, but it's not like she knew what to do in a situation like that. She observed him as he saw the cars out there and, when they arrived at where his classes were taught, Emma decided to walk out with him instead of just dropping him off.

"Hey!" he called for him before he entered. He turned to look at her and she smiled. "Wanna grab an ice cream when you're done?"

"It's cold," he said with a frown.

Emma sighed and tried again, "Hot cocoa, then? And I can teach you how to play that game your mom won't let you play if you promise to keep the secret."

That finally made his lips turn upwards in a smile and he nodded, "It sounds cool. I'll see you later, Emma."

She watched him enter the building and stood on the concrete. His classes were about an hour long and she noticed Mulan lived nearby, so she decided to text her if she was around.

_Sure, Ruby's here too._

Emma shot one last glance at the door and turned on her heels to walk to the other side of the road.

* * *

"Ems! Mulan was just about to tell me something important," Ruby informed her when Emma entered the small but cosy apartment. She patted next to her and moved slightly so the blonde could take a seat.

"You were?" Emma asked raising an eyebrow at Mulan, who rolled her eyes.

"It's not  _that_ important. I was just going to ask her the same thing I asked you a few days ago," she explained.

"About your crush?"

"A crush?" Ruby exclaimed looking in between them.

Mulan sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, to explain it to Ruby. As she had said, she told her the same thing she had told Emma when they had gone for a run, but Ruby was a lot more excited than Emma.

"Anyways, now that you two are here," Mulan continued over Ruby's squealing, "I've been thinking about giving her a painting I made of her as a way to declare. What do you think?"

"You painted her?" Emma asked in awe.

At the same time, Ruby leaned forward, "Can I see it?"

"Yes and no, you can't see it," Mulan said with a blush peaking on her cheeks.

"You're so in love," Ruby grinned. "And I totally think she has the hots for you too."

"Wait," Emma said whipping her head towards Ruby. "Do you know who she is?"

"You don't?" Ruby counter asked with genuine surprise. "It's clear to me."

Emma glanced over at Mulan, who was blushing and looking away and frowned in thought until it hit her. "Oooooh."

"Yeah," Ruby agreed. "So yes, I think it's about time you make a move with Aurora."

"I agree," Emma nodded.

"Alright, alright," Mulan sighed. "Now can we move to another thing? Perhaps talk about Emma's babysitting her girlfriend's kid?"

"Ruby!" Emma exclaimed looking at her. Her friend just shrugged and she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, she's out of town and asked me if I could take care of him for a few days."

"That's a lot to ask," Mulan commented with both eyebrows arched.

Emma just shrugged. "Not really, he's a quiet kid. Anyway," she said waving her hand. "I wanna grab a beer at least before he's out of class."

"Sure," Mulan said turning to the kitchen and pointed somewhere Emma couldn't quite see. "They're on the fridge. It's Ruby's turn so bring the whole box. We'll need it."

* * *

Emma was already waiting for Henry outside when he opened the door. A few other kids, some taller than him, waved him goodbye but he just smiled shyly. The car was already waiting too, so he immediately jumped in before Emma.

"How was class?" she asked.

This time he seemed more receptive and smiled. "It was cool. We're getting the play ready."

"What is it about?"

His smile turned smug and looked away, "Can't say. It's a secret." Then his smile faltered and murmured, "Not even mom knows."

Emma watched him and sighed before she nudged his arm, "Hey kid, she's off for a few days only. She'll be back before you know it."

"I know," he answered more maturely than Emma would have expected from a 5 years old.

The rest of the way was silent. She was watching Henry from time to time, but he never looked away from the window. Emma wondered why he was so upset. At first the obvious response was that he missed his mother. He was just a kid, he barely did anything at class other than painting with his fingers and singing the numbers, but after that conversation Emma felt it wasn't that.

When they arrived at her place, he awkwardly sat on the couch, not really knowing what to do, so Emma asked him if he wanted to watch TV. He only answered with a nod and she gave him the remote so he could choose the channel while she prepared something to eat, following Regina's menu. It wasn't an elaborated dish, but as she made it, Emma had the time to think about what was bothering Henry.

By the time she placed the plate on the table, she still hadn't got anything. They ate dinner together, commenting a few things but mostly watching TV and laughing at the cartoons Henry had chosen. Then, he was off to get a shower and Emma just laid on her bed, listening carefully in case Henry needed something.

He was usually good to her. He loved playing with her and spending time at the park or anywhere. He loved being picked up by Emma and he trusted her, so she didn't understand why suddenly he was so reserved and quiet. She realised parenting was harder than she thought it would be with a kid of his age. Emma imagined how it would be when he was a moody teenager, complaining because he was old enough to not have his mother around every time. Emma sat up as she suddenly realised.

"Of course," she murmured hitting her head with her hand.

Henry came out of the bathroom, already wearing his pyjamas and ready to go to bed and Emma smiled, making him frown. "What?"

"Nothing," she shrugged. "Are you feeling tired?"

He nodded and walked over to the bed, brushing his eyes and climbing the mattress. He slid beneath the sheets and Emma sat next to him, tucking him. "Do you want a bed time story or are you too old for that?"

"Do you know a good one?" he asked with curiosity.

"Kid, making up good stories is what I do for a living," she laughed. "Okay, are you all set up for the best bed time story you've ever heard?"

He nodded somehow excited by the anticipation and Emma cleared her throat.

* * *

Day 2 of –not hurricane– calm Henry.

Emma woke up to her phone vibrating, a few minutes before her alarm rang. She grumbled and opened one eye to check the screen. When she read the name, she glanced at Henry, who was still sleeping, and sat up to go outside of the bedroom.

"Hello?" she yawned once she was in the living room although she already knew who it was.

"Emma, were you sleeping?" Regina said very much awake on the other side of the line.

"Actually yes, I still had a few minutes left," Emma murmured. "How are things going over there?"

"Good, busy but good. Yesterday was hectic and I fell asleep as soon as I touched the bed. How's Henry? How are you?" Regina asked in a row, taking a breath only at the end.

Emma smiled. "We're good. Henry attended his school and then theatre class and he even ate his whole dinner. You have nothing to worry about," she lied. She didn't want to, but she also didn't want Regina to worry about Henry, especially when it was only a matter of temporary separation.

"And you?" Regina asked much more relaxed this time.

Emma could feel the tender in her voice and actual care for her, and it made her feel warm even when Regina miles away. "I'm barely breathing without you but I manage," she joked, making Regina laugh. "I'm good, seriously."

"Good." Emma could feel the smile in her voice and it only made hers grow. "Then I should go. We have a meeting in an hour and I still have to have breakfast."

In that moment, Emma heard her alarm going off. "You go. I have to get ready and check on Henry. I'll give you an update later."

"Thanks. I'll try to escape and give you a call," Regina promised.

"You do what you have to do. We'll talk when you're back." Emma heard Henry getting up and turned. "I gotta go. Henry's awake. Good luck!"

"You too."

Emma hung up before the words slipped from her lips. Her heart was racing at the thought and wondered if Regina was feeling the same. It had felt right to tell her that she loved her, but at the same time it didn't feel right to do it on the phone.

"Emma!" she heard from the bedroom. "Where's my uniform?"

She shook her head and entered her room, ready for another day.

* * *

Emma was waiting outside of the school, but this time there wasn't any driver. She was leaning on a wall when Henry approached her with a frown, glancing around as if he was searching for a car.

"Hey kid," Emma grinned. "I thought we could live without a car for a day. Let's go."

"Where are we going?" he asked as he walked next to her. He slid his hand in Emma's and she held back the smile at the act of trust it meant for them.

"Since you don't have class today, I wanted to show you something," she just said.

"Like…a food something?" he asked and Emma laughed.

"Okay, you're hungry so let's get something before I show you."

They stopped by a store and, after discussing that Henry shouldn't eat sugar, they reached an agreement and bought some candy bars with the promise that he would eat all his vegetables later that evening. Emma took him to the subway and discovered it was the first time he was there. He held tight to her hand, but his eyes were wide looking at the wagons go in front of him. They started a game to count people who were sleeping and by the time they walked out to the street, Henry had won by 3. They had eaten all the candy bars and were laughing when they arrived to where Emma wanted.

There was a park, with many kids playing, and there was an old abandoned house on the background. Emma had found it when she had first arrived to the city. Kids usually stayed away from the house because their parents always scolded them if they went there, probably in case there were homeless people or it fell apart, but Emma had ventured in and had found an empty back yard. There she found a wooden castle and it had become her favourite place.

"I hope you like castles," Emma said when they arrived.

Henry jaw dropped. "It's awesome! Can we go?"

"Sure," Emma laughed when she noticed he was jumping on his heels.

He ran towards the structure and climbed it, going down the slide. Emma followed him and watched him closely. After all it  _was_ old and if Regina found out she would probably murder Emma. Henry exclaimed that he was a knight and started to fight Emma, the dragon, so she started to roar and run behind him. When they got tired, they took a seat on the castle and watched a squirrel make its way up a tree.

"Henry?" Emma asked. He murmured and she guessed it was a sing for her to continue, so she did, glancing at him. "You know why your mother had to leave you here?"

That hit close to home and he frowned, still looking at the tree. He was quiet for a moment but then half shook his head, half nodded. "She's working."

"Yes, but do you know  _why_?" she insisted. When he didn't answer, she followed his gaze. "She called me this morning because she had been so busy yesterday she hadn't had a free minute. She didn't take you with her because you would have been sooo bored. Don't you prefer to be here at the park with candy than at a hotel room waiting?"

He shrugged and Emma nudged his shoulder.

"I can tell you she didn't leave you here by choice. She would have loved to have you by her side, but she knows it's better if you stayed here," she explained him.

"She has taken me with her other times," he murmured.

"Hey, aren't you a big kid now? I bet she thought you could survive for a couple of days without your momma…," Emma sighed.

"I am a big kid!" Henry protested. "I just miss her."

Emma smiled at him. Sometimes she forgot he was younger than he looked and he was just a little kid missing his mother, used to have her around all the time. "She'll be back in two days." He nodded and seemed to finally accept it. "Now, do you wanna send her a picture to show her how big you are and how much fun you're having?"

He nodded and Emma pulled out her phone to send Regina a picture of the two of them making faces to the camera. Henry laughed so Emma decided to take more pictures, on the castle, pulling out their tongues and smiling at the camera. She pressed send with a short message and helped Henry off the castle to come back home.

It was easier that day. They cooked dinner together—or more like Henry threw the vegetables in the pan and made a mess—and ate it with Tiara the dinosaur. After a while watching Henry's favourite cartoons, Emma taught him the commands of the most simple game she had, but his hands were too little to reach the buttons and gave up after a few attempts, so they started to play with the toys Henry had brought.

After a while, Henry yawned and Emma realised he still had to take a shower, so she helped him get the shower ready and left the door open while she picked up all the toys. While she was at it, her phone rang, and she picked it up while she kept doing her task.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Emma." Regina's voice immediately put a smile on her face. "I haven't been able to pick up the phone all day. I just saw the pictures you sent me and I think I want to put them into frames and hang them on my wall. Is that too weird?"

Emma laughed, "Not at all…creep."

"Shut up," Regina laughed along. "How are you?"

"Good. Better today, actually," Emma informed her happily.

"Better?"

"Yeah, just better," she shook it off. "How are you?"

On the other side of the line Regina sighed and there was a thump, like if she had just fallen on the bed. "Tired, but finally done for the day. I can't wait for tomorrow to be over with this."

"And after that the party!"

Regina laughed, "I will be lucky if I even stay up after 10. I'm getting old."

"You still owe me a night out so don't be so dramatic," Emma quipped before she heard Henry walking out of the bathroom. "Hey, Henry just got out of the shower. Wanna talk to him before he goes to sleep?"

"I'd love that." Regina's voice let the smile be heard and Emma grinned before going to Henry.

She helped him on the bed and handed him her phone after promising Regina they would talk later. She left them alone, taking that time to take a shower herself and let the water clean her skin. Emma took her time as usual, and when she was out she wore a relaxed smile. She dressed up in her improvised pyjamas—she hadn't owned a proper pyjamas since she was 12—and ventured into her room again to find Henry sleeping with her phone in his ear.

She carefully grabbed it and tucked him in. Walking outside, she whispered into the phone, "Regina?" But all she had as a response was the sound of a deep breathing, probably from Regina sleeping too.

Emma hung up and, after checking everything was okay, she jumped into the couch, ready to catch up with some TV shows.

* * *

Day 3 of –not hurricane, not calm– Henry.

Both Emma and Henry had needed the previous day. It had settled them down in their relationship and when they woke up next morning, they worked as a team. While he got ready, supervised by Emma, she made breakfast at the same time she talked to Regina. Then, she passed the phone over to Henry for them to talk while he ate his breakfast and she got dressed. They were out the door 5 minutes earlier.

The day was going well. Emma had finished not just one but two projects and the only thing left was for her to prepare the presentation and it would be over. She worked with David most of the day, but on the evening she was informed to attend a meeting, so she had to head up.

When she opened the door of the meeting room, the smell of fish hit her like a punch and she grimaced. Killian was sitting on one of the chairs, his boots on the table as he spoke to one of the managers. Emma plastered a fake smile and closed the door behind her.

"Swan," he grinned like a Cheshire cat when he saw her. He stood up and approached her, offering a hand. She gave hers, expecting to shake it, but he kissed her hand. "Always a pleasure."

"Okay," she murmured retreating her hand. She took a seat and cleared her throat.

She was supposed to be there as support for the manager, backing him up since she had worked on the project, and every time she explained anything she felt Killian's eyes set on her, making her uncomfortable. By the time the meeting was done, they stood up and shook hands again, and the manager left quickly because he had another meeting, leaving them alone.

"Swan," Killian called for her when she was ready to leave. "I was wondering if you've given a thought to the…private meeting?"

"Not really," Emma deadpanned but he laughed anyways.

"In case it changes your mind, I have available a boat, old school, and perhaps we could have dinner under the moonlight in the middle of the sea?" he asked showing his teeth in what Emma guessed was a smirk.

"It's still a no."

"Really?" he frowned, like if he wasn't used to rejection to that plan. "It's a real nice boat."

"I don't doubt it," Emma conceded. "But I'm not interested. We have a contract; that's all. Besides, I like woman," she added to make her point clear. As if she needed an excuse to say no. But.

Instead of sending him away, his smile appeared again, this time with an arched brow. "Maybe it's because you haven't had a taste of the sea with me."

"Oh my god," she rolled her eyes. "I'm sea sick. I hate the sea. I don't like men. Now, if you excuse me I have to get to work."

She walked past him without saying goodbye and shivered when she felt his eyes on her body. The day had been going so well but now she was in a poor mood and all she wanted was to leave that place. Emma tried to focus on her work, and managed to do some things, but soon it was time to leave to pick up Henry and she was relieved when she went out in the street.

Waiting for Henry, she got a text from Mulan asking her if she was up for a game later, but although she really wanted to kick some balls, she had to take care of Henry. However, when he stopped in front of her, an idea occurred to her.

"Henry, how about we go to the park to play with a ball?" she asked.

"Emma!" Mulan exclaimed, running towards them. They had already started and she was already sweating and having trouble to breath evenly. "And kid," she added looking down with a smile.

"This is Henry," Emma introduced him, but he was shy and hid a little behind Emma. "I see you started."

"Yeah, about half an hour ago. You sure you don't want to join us?" she asked.

Suddenly Aurora appeared behind Mulan and hugged her, throwing her hands around her neck and shoulders from behind. "Hey, Emma. Hello, young man. Are you playing with us today?"

Emma threw a significant look at Mulan, who blushed and looked away, and shook her head. "Nah. I'm here to play with him. I was wondering if I could borrow one of your balls?"

"Sure," Aurora said at the same time Mulan did. The girl laughed and pressed a kiss to Mulan's cheek before running away.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Did you tell her already?"

Mulan shook her head, "Nope. Still gathering the courage to do it."

The blonde couldn't begin to understand how her friend didn't see the way Aurora behaved around her, but still didn't want to pressure her, so she squeezed her arm. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Mulan smiled. "The balls are over there. Feel free to get one."

She came back to the game and Emma glanced down at Henry, who was shyly looking at the field. "Come on. I'll show you."

They spent a while passing the ball, but Emma found Henry was eve more clumsy than she was. He had some trouble to hit the ball when it was moving, but still they laughed and had a good time. When they left, the girls were finishing their match, so Emma just waved them goodbye and walked with Henry to a close cinema. There was a new animation movie and asked him if he wanted to watch it, but he was feeling a little tired, so they walked home and decided to watch another movie there.

Emma couldn't have seen it coming until they arrived to the door of her apartment and found Zelena leaning on a wall next to it.

"Emma!" the red haired exclaimed when she saw them. "And Henry! I've been waiting for you."

"Zelena?" the blonde asked confused as she stood there with the keys dangling on her fingers.

"Gina told me I could find my favourite nephew here," she said smiling down at him and cupping his chin. "Don't tell her I called her Gina."

"Uh, okay?" Emma said still not really knowing what was happening.

"It was an emergency matter," Zelena explained like if that clarified anything. "You see, Roland is in town with Robin and I told him he could meet Henry today."

Emma, who had opened the door of her apartment, stopped and turned. She glanced down at Henry, who seemed like if he didn't want to go. "He's a little tired today. We were just playing all evening at the park."

Zelena pouted and looked at Henry. "You don't want to have a new friend?" she asked innocently, but he shook his head and walked inside the apartment. Zelena frowned at him.

"So," Emma cleared her throat. "This Robin. He's in town?"

"Yes. His ex wife is at a long meeting or something. She's out of town and I thought he could have some time with Henry," Zelena said, pulling out a pocket mirror from her purse and checking herself in it. "I thought it would be good to my sister, you know? She's been so lonely since Daniel."

"Really?" Emma asked, making Zelena's eyebrows arch and glance away from the mirror.

"You know Daniel?"

Emma shifted awkwardly. "She has mentioned something about it. I thought Regina could have anyone she wanted though."

"I agree," Zelena murmured, closing her mirror and watching Emma closely. "So you're in charge of Henry?"

"Uh, yes. She needed help with him and I was in a meeting with her at the time she found out about the convention so I offered to watch over him," she lied. Zelena quietly stared at her and she cleared her throat after a while. "Actually I was about to make some dinner. If you want to join us…," she offered, expecting the other woman to turn down the invitation.

"Of course!" she exclaimed instead with a smile, making her way inside without waiting for an invitation.

Emma blinked, unsure of what had just happened, and followed her inside. Henry was on the couch, playing with his boat and Zelena took a sit next to him, asking him about the toy.

It was a strange sight. Emma was used to see Zelena as a cosmopolitan woman, always in a hurry although she didn't do much. She was from the elite. Seeing her there, sitting next to Henry and listening to him telling her about his toys was something Emma didn't think she would see.

She decided to start making dinner, which was only –healthy– pizza, and put it in the oven before joining them on the living room. The adults patiently accepted Henry's directions to play and each one grabbed a character of his story. Zelena, still regal, sat on the couch while Emma and Henry laid on the floor.

When dinner was ready, the kid ate only 2 small pieces and, since Zelena didn't eat a lot, Emma finished it. She was ready to ask Zelena about a movie as she picked up the plates when the other woman sighed.

"Oh! It's that time already!" she stood up and picked up her purse. "There's a party I have to be at. Sorry my dears." She kissed Henry's head and walked towards Emma to give two kiss to the air next to her cheeks. "Lovely evening. Thanks for dinner, Emma. I'll see you around!"

And like after a tornado leaves, the apartment fell quiet when the door closed. Henry stood up and ran to the living room to pick a movie, leaving Emma to do the dishes, still confused about the whole evening.

* * *

–Sadly, to Emma's surprise– last day of Henry.

Emma was thankful it was Saturday and she could sleep in, not having to worry about getting Henry ready for school nor work. Just the bed and her, hopefully, until at least the middle of the morning hours.

She hadn't count on a 5 years old kid who liked to watch the morning cartoons.

Henry jumped on the bed, telling her to wake up before rushing outside to turn up the TV. While Emma was still coming back to reality, she heard him exclaiming numbers on his own and frowned. Kids were still a mystery to her, even after 4 days of taking care of one.

She sat up and checked the time, groaning when she saw it was barely after 8. Still, she got up and walked to the kitchen to get a bowl of cereal for Henry and coffee for her. Regina would arrive later that morning, around noon, and she had secretly planned to go get her at the airport, so she wanted to be at least awake for that.

Emma took a seat next to Henry and watched the cartoons with him, marvelling in how different they were from the ones she used to watch when she could. She got into the shows and even sat with him on the floor. However, after a few hours, she told Henry to go take a shower to get ready to leave. It didn't take them long, but the airport was away from the city, so they had to leave early.

On the way, Emma had the idea to paint a sign with Regina's name on it and they stopped by a gas station to buy some paper and crayons for him to paint in the car while she droved them there in her old yellow bug. When they arrived though, the sign was all but a sign. It was mostly scrawls of different colours and she could barely read "REJINA" in the middle of the drawing. She was about to correct him, but then left it that way; I bet Regina wouldn't mind anyways just this one time.

They arrived and sat on the waiting seats, playing a few games they came up with and, when she got the text from Regina telling her she had landed and her private driver would take her home, they stood up to walk over to the door. Emma lifted Henry on her shoulders, struggling a little with him as he wiggled, and he raised the sign over his head.

Regina was lost in thought when she crossed the door, but when she heard a familiar voice yelling "mom", she raised her gaze and stopped when she saw the scene. A smile was instantly covering almost all of her face as she made her way towards them. Emma lowered Henry, who ran and hugged his mother before she even arrived to where they stood.

"Excuse me, are you Rejina?" Emma asked, exaggerating the j and showing her the sign. Regina laughed and shook her head, kissing her cheek.

"You are stupid."

"But you missed me," Emma grinned.

Regina rolled her eyes but her smile spoke volumes of her feelings. They made their way back to the car while Henry told his mother how well he had behaved. When they arrived to where the park was, Regina frowned.

"Are we going in this…car?"

"Hey, it's my most prized property. Be kind to her," Emma protested as she put the luggage in the trunk.

"Her?" Regina questioned raising an eyebrow. "I didn't know you owned a car."

Emma shrugged and opened the door. "I like to take the subway and reduce contamination, but I love my car. Now, princess, hop in your carriage."

When they were all settled in the car, Emma turned on the radio, but kept it low and as a background noise as she and Henry told Regina all about their days together. At one moment, when Henry was telling the story of how he had learned to play soccer, Regina left her hand on Emma's knee and squeezed. Their gazes locked and her smile was so bright Emma thought she would melt right there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More to come! Earlier this time, I swear. Love your feedback!


	17. Chapter 17

"C'mon. Henry's going to be all right. Aren't you, young man?" Emma asked staring at the kid, hoping he answered positively. Much to her relief, he nodded with a grin, his mouth full of the apple pie they had made that evening after Regina had some rest from the travelling.

Rayna had been a sweetheart to answer their call in the last minute and was cutting a piece of apple pie for herself before taking a seat next to him. Regina shot one last glance at her son and pressed a kiss to his shaggy hair.

"Be good Henry." She raised her gaze and meet Rayna's over his head. "Thank you again for coming over with so little time ahead."

"Don't worry, Miss Mills," the girl assured with a polite smile. Emma knew Rayna had come over more times she could remember to take care of Henry, most times during weekend nights, and she was sure they knew each other well enough for them to drop the formal addressing, but even after thousand times of telling her she didn't have to refer to Regina as Miss Mills the brunette had given up.

"If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to call me," Regina offered as Emma helped her put on her coat.

Rayna nodded, "I will if anything happens, but I think Henry's going to be a good boy, right?"

Henry looked up at her when he heard his name, tilting his head, and then nodded to her mother although he looked like he wasn't aware what he was agreeing to. Emma snuck up a bite of his pie piece and hummed in delight, making him turn with a protest falling from his lips.

"It's delicious," Emma expressed out loud.

"I agree," Rayna added with a smile.

Regina dipped her head in gratitude, since she had made most of it while Henry and Emma challenged each other to see which one of them managed to get dirtier with the flour. Her eyes met Emma's bright ones and a grin spread across her face. "Shall we go?"

"Finally!" Emma exclaimed, earning a glare from Regina and giggles from the other two that completed her audience. She stood besides the brunette and an arm looped within hers. "Let's go. Bye!"

Regina glanced back one last time to cast a smile at Henry before walking away with Emma. She was proud of her good memory. She could remember what she had eaten every day of the last month, so of course she remembered what she had promised Emma before she had left earlier that week. She just had hoped Emma didn't remember.

Emma did remember though.

It's not like Regina didn't want to go out with her. She really did. She was worried though because it had been time for her since she had gone out and she feared she wasn't up for Emma's expectations. She wasn't  _old_ , but she was a mother in her thirties and she spent most of her youth trying to improve to make her mother happy. Then Daniel had came around and between him and work she hadn't had much of a party. And then Henry, to whom she had poured herself into. Sure, she had attended a lot of parties in her life, she had gotten drunk and made a few mistakes, but it had been long since the last time it had happened, so that's why she was nervously biting her lip as Emma led her into a bar.

It wasn't crowded—it was still early—but there were enough people to set up a nice vibe. They made their way towards the back of the bar and Emma brought Regina down by her hand when she found a table. They sat in a bench, against the wall and looking outwards to the dance floor which was almost empty at the time except for a few braves that dared to dance by themselves.

Emma called the waiter and ordered two cocktails to start and turned to Regina with a smile. "So tell me. How was the trip?"

It was a simple question, easy to answer for her. Emma could sense Regina was tense. She couldn't quite grasp why yet, but she decided to go for something she could feel comfortable talking about before moving to something deeper. The soft cocktails would also help, she hoped.

Regina seemed to relax as she started to tell Emma the adventures she had lived across the country, if going from meeting to meeting and dealing with potential clients was considered adventurous at all. The cocktails glasses were almost empty, the small umbrellas that once adorned the drink now forgotten on the table, when something about the story caught Emma's attention.

"…and I met Marian in that moment. Way to make an impression, right? She helped me pick up the content of the folder and then somehow we ended up talking for at least an hour."

The name was familiar to Emma, who remained smiling and nodding on the pauses, and she tried to remember where she had heard that name.

"If it wasn't for her," Regina continued, "last day's party would have been really boring. Well, if you count as a party to have around 50 or 60 people in the same room holding a glass and talking politely about business. She told me she had a son the same age as Henry, so we ended up talking about raising them. She had also left him back in town, like me, and you're not going to believe who the father is."

Regina paused, her eyebrows arched like if she really expected Emma to answer. The waiter walked in to clean the table and she ordered two more cocktails, a lot stronger than the previous ones, before turning back at Emma.

"So? Who do you think he is?" she repeated.

Emma shrugged and shook her head, "I don't know. Who is he?"

"Robin," Regina revealed and the blonde instantly remembered where she had heard the name of the woman. "It's amazing how little world can be, isn't it?" she wondered while she took another sip.

"It is," Emma admitted honestly. "So you talked about him?"

Regina glanced at Emma and smiled, softly rolling her eyes. "Not really. She doesn't have a good opinion about him, on that we agreed. Maybe that's why we got along so well." The brunette chuckled and bumped her arm against Emma. "She lives in the city so maybe we could go out. She practically begged me to introduce you to her."

"We can go to the park with Roland some day," Emma proposed.

Regina's eyebrows shot up. "You know Roland?"

"Your sister Zelena may have mentioned him once or twice. Like yesterday." Emma paused to take a small sip and swallowed, grimacing slightly at the alcohol burning her throat. "Hasn't she told you?"

Tilting her head, her forehead wrinkled in confusion, Regina asked, "Tell me what?"

Emma started when Henry and she had arrived to her apartment to find her there, only skipping her reason. She told Regina Zelena had decided to have dinner with them in a surprising turn of events and they had had a pleasant evening until the Mills sister had fled from her place.

"What was she doing there?" Regina asked at the end of the story.

The blonde remembered perfectly that Zelena had told her she had called Regina under the excuse of an emergency to find Henry, but judging by the expression in the woman in front of her, Emma put two and two together and figured it she must have been lied to.

"Apparently she lied about calling you to know where Henry was and appeared there because Roland was with Robin and she wanted to take Henry with them to play at the park," she explained as she saw the surprise in deep brown.

"She did not call me," Regina said.

"I see that now," Emma nodded. "So anyway, what is she up to?"

Regina rolled her eye and picked up her glass, "Zelena rolls her own way. Who knows. I have already told her I have no interest in Robin so I don't know what she is on to."

Emma hummed and fixed her eyes on her glass, mixing her drink with the blue umbrella it had. Regina kissed her cheek and when Emma raised her head, the brunette casted a smile towards her.

"Why don't we focus on what's important?" she suggested. "Tell me all about your days with Henry."

That put a smile on Emma's face as she started to tell Regina all about her adventure with Henry while the brunette watched her with a look that was practically caressing Emma's skin. She was becoming more confident as the anecdotes went on up until they picked up Regina from the airport.

Regina was laughing while Emma told her a detailed description of a cartoon movie Henry had made her watch, and her cheeks were covered with a plentiful dusting of pink from the alcohol while she watched Emma adoringly.

A cocktail became a martini and it was already long past midnight when Emma asked for some shots to the bartender. She brought the bottle to the table, swaying slightly as she tried to dance to the music and looking like a dizzy duck instead. Regina giggled when Emma fell next to her and kissed her cheek before preparing their first shot.

"Okay, let's play a game," Emma half yelled to be heard over the people talking and the music in the background.

Regina raised a perfectly trimmed eyebrow, "Are you going to play Never Have I Ever like a 17 year old?"

"Really? That's the image you have from me?" The corners of Regina's lips curled up in a playful side smirk and Emma shook her head. "It's actually I Have. You see, I say something I have done and if you have done it too, we drink. If not, we don't. It's like the poor's Never Have I Ever game. It saves drink for later."

"I can't believe I'm dating you," Regina rolled her eyes, but the smile spread across her face. "Okay, you start."

Emma wrinkled her face in thought, trying to come up with a good first round. It was a little disappointing for Regina when she raised her shot and said, "I have been caught stealing."

Regina remained still, only moved her eyebrow up. "Really dear?"

"C'mon, have you never been caught? Not even when you were little and stole cookies from the jar?" Emma's head fell on the uncomfortable back of the bench as she looked up at the brunette.

"I have never stolen one thing in my entire life," Regina said, dragging out the s at stolen.

"Really?" Emma gaped. "Aren't you Miss Saint!"

Regina rolled her eyes and picked up her glass. "My turn. I have been caught having a threesome."

Emma's eyes bulged out of her head as she stared at Regina. "Not that saint after all! What the hell happened? You have to tell me that."

Regina waved her hand as a smile peaked around the corner of her lips. "It's nothing."

"Oh no. You brought it up. Now you tell that story," Emma insisted, scooting closer to Regina.

"I was in a slumber party with some friends and it kind of turned into a full party with more friends. It was a dare and we were stupid kids, so one of them dared me and two more to go 7 minutes in Heaven," she explained. "Now one of us three was an older girl everyone liked, but me and this guy were crushing hard on her at that time, so that's why they dared us to do that."

Emma listened quietly, but when Regina paused she couldn't stop herself. "And? What happened?"

"We ended up hooking up," Regina shrugged like it was no big deal. "When 7 minutes passed and then some minutes more and we wouldn't go out, they opened the door and found the three of us…well, you know."

"That was wild," Emma laughed. "I can't believe I took you for a saint." Regina drew a mischievous smirk as a response and Emma couldn't contain the roll of eyes. "What a show off. Let's take it down a notch if we want to drink. My turn."

* * *

They had drained half of the bottle when Emma almost fell off the bench from laughing at a story Regina had told her. Far from being offended, Regina was also bent over the table without being able to stop the laughter. When Emma fell, they decided to set aside the bottle and have some rest if they didn't want to end up unconscious from hitting their heads.

Emma heaved herself out of the seat and held out a hand for Regina, who gladly took it and felt herself gravitate towards the blonde. Before they fell, Emma got a grab of the two of them with a giggle and led Regina out to the dance floor, confident enough to dance without caring much about what anyone could think of them.

They had danced together before, but every time Emma got this feeling in the bottom of her stomach that spread around her body only from seeing Regina's hips following the rhythm. She was so entranced by that, she didn't see him until he grabbed her arm.

"Swan." Emma received a breath that smelled like strong alcohol, cigarettes and cheap leather and almost gagged when it stuck in her nose. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Emma glanced up at Killian for a while, trying to come to senses as to why he was there, still grabbing her arm. She glanced down and yanked away. "Why?" she asked defensively.

"I just…" He didn't finish the sentence and just smirked, showing his teeth while arching an eyebrow. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Actually no, thanks. I'm okay. I'm already here with someone," she yelled before she could even begin to think what she was doing.

"You are?" he asked sceptically as his smile faltered.

Emma nodded and Killian glanced behind her, finally taking in focus a dancing Regina who wasn't aware of the scene. However, in that moment she raised her gaze and the smile she wore disappeared as fast as the colour in her cheeks.

"Regina Mills," Killian said in surprise. "I definitely did not expect you here." He glanced between the two women and narrowed his eyes, watching their reactions.

"Mr. Jones," Regina said, tilting her head. It sounded so professional Emma whipped her head to look at her. Just a few seconds ago she had been drunkenly dancing around Emma and now she looked like she was ready to close a deal.

"Having fun, I see," Killian smirked again, balancing his weight on his heels. "May I join?"

"Ew," Emma exclaimed before grabbing Regina's hand and leading her out of the bar.

Once outside, the cold fresh air of the night hit their cheeks and cleared their minds a little. Regina set her hand free and Emma turned towards her with a frown. "Emma! That was out client. We can just leave like that!" she protested.

"What? Did you not hear what he said?" Emma shouted back. When she saw Regina's perplexed expression, she understood she hadn't. "He had been trying to go out on a date with me ever since we met and he won't stop. Not even at the meetings. And now he said if he could join us. Like—"

"What?" Regina cut in speaking through her clenched teeth. "He harassed you?"

"I mean I didn't gave him a chance to do that. I just said no and leave," Emma explained, but it wasn't enough for Regina, who turned bailing her fists towards the door. Emma followed her but only caught up with her when she was already talking to Killian. If that was considered talking.

Regina was lecturing him about something Emma couldn't hear from her position but whatever it was, it was shrinking him in his seat little by little. When Emma arrived, Regina raised her gaze at met her eyes. Then, she glared at Killian, who looked like he had peed his pants, one more time and marched away with Emma.

Outside, the blonde asked still almost yelling from the high music on the bar stuck in her ears, "What did you tell him?"

"I ended up the contract. He'll be monday in the office to sign the termination of the contract. If that's okay with you," she added turning to look at Emma.

The blonde's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Regina had fire in her brown eyes, shining in the middle of the night. A few cars drove past them and then Emma laughed, making Regina tilting her head and frown.

"I can't believe this is happening," she said breathlessly. "I could deal with him."

"That you can doesn't mean that you  _have._ I know you can defend yourself, but I can't stay aside when one of my workers is suffering from sexual harassment in the workplace no less," Regina exposed. Then, she shrugged and started walking away as she added, "I might have added a threat or two nonetheless."

Emma waited a second more before running to catch up with Regina's step and her lips curled up in a side smile. "You can be a real lioness, you know?"

"I'm surprised you didn't know that yet," Regina joked with a small smirk appearing across her face. She scooted closer and hooked her arm to Emma's, leaning her head over the blonde's shoulder although they were almost the same height since Regina was wearing her highest heels.

"I'm sorry he ruined our night," Emma whispered after a while, feeling slightly guilty about the whole issue.

Regina raised her head to look at her with a frown. "It's not your fault, and he didn't ruin it. There's still night ahead of us."

Emma stopped, a genuine smile on her face, and tugged at Regina to make her stop too. They faced each other in the middle of the street, but everything else seemed to disappear. Emma's hand cupped Regina's cheek, softly dragging her thumb across the cold skin she found. She wanted to say everything she felt, all at once. Instead, she leaned forward and let her head rest against Regina's forehead, closing her eyes.

"Is everything all right?" Regina said softly. It was loud in the street, the cars driving past them, people laughing and talking as they walked past them, mixed music from some bars in the background, and still Emma was able to hear Regina's voice, barely above a whisper.

Her smile grew and formed a full grin before she leaned forward and kissed Regina instead of pouring her feelings out. She hoped it showed how much she felt and the intensity of it. Maybe she was influenced by the adrenaline and the alcohol running through her veins, but more than ever Emma finally felt she was where she needed to be.

"Let's go home," she just smiled when they separated.

Regina eyed her curiously, seizing if Emma was okay. When she was satisfied enough, she nodded and returned the smile, walking away with Emma.

* * *

"Come on, he is sleeping," Emma whined in a whisper as she latched onto Regina's waist from behind. "It's past 3!"

"Just a quick check," the brunette promised as they made their way through the hallway after saying goodbye to Rayna. She pushed the door slowly and she watched inside, the corner of her lips curled up and half closed the door to let him sleep.

When she turned, she found Emma's smile. "You are the greatest mother, you know that right?"

Regina rolled her eyes and reached for the blonde's hand to lead her to her bedroom. Once inside, she closed the door and grabbed a fistful of Emma's jacket collar. Arching an eyebrow, Emma quickly registered what was happening and smirked, bringing the other woman's body closer as she dipped her head for a kiss.

Their tongues found each other without difficulty, moved by muscle memory. They were in the bed in no time, clothes tracing a path from the door to their position as an evidence of the shared passion. They could still feel the alcohol in their lips, but the high had come down and it had left a bittersweet taste behind.

Regina kissed down Emma's neck, nipping and licking every piece of skin she found, and the blonde bit her lip to conceal the moans those plump lips evoked. Without wasting a second, Regina straddled Emma's waist as she bit harder where the blonde's shoulder and neck met, finally earning a soft moan. She travelled down, taking her time in showering Emma with her kisses everywhere she could reach and teasing her along the way. When she reached between her legs, Emma was writhing beneath her and it made her smirk at the power she had over her.

It felt like ages for Emma, but when she finally felt Regina's tongue where she needed the most, she couldn't control anymore and groaned, closing her eyes.

* * *

It was the sound of the TV at full volume what woke them up.

"What the fuck is that?" Emma swore, curling up next to Regina.

The brunette groaned and made a face, lifting her hands to her head, "It must be Henry. Is it me or it's too loud?"

"Definitely too loud." Emma threw a pillow over her face to both cover her ears and eyes from the sound and light, but it was too late and she was already wide awake. Regina, on her side, she was a sleeper and Emma could already feel her breathing slowing down to a sleeping state.

With a smile, she lid off the bed slowly to not wake her up and Regina curled in the bed, frowning in her sleep at the loss of warmth. Emma yawned as she walked out of the room after throwing a pyjama she had left there a few weeks ago because Regina had insisted to clean it up after Emma had thrown gravy on it.

Very much like Regina had predicted, Henry was sitting in front of the TV on the floor with a big grin on his face. Emma shook her head, a smile stretching across her face. She walked closer to him and lifted him easily, earning a whim.

"Not so close, bud, or you'll end up blind," she said leaving him on the couch and reaching for the remote. "Also, not that loud or you'll end up deaf too, my goodness."

"Where is mom?" he asked standing on the couch and turning as he followed Emma with his gaze.

She turned on the coffee maker and reached for what she knew to be the medicine cabinet, pulling out two pills for the headache. She swallowed one and took a gulp of a glass of water before refilling it. "She's still sleeping."

Henry tilted his head and wrinkled his forehead. "She never sleeps."

Emma laughed softly at his sentence, guessing he meant she never slept in, and turned. "It has been a long week for her. I'll be right back, so don't turn up the volume."

She walked into Regina's bedroom, tip toeing towards the nightstand, and left the glass of water with the pill next to it. Regina was still deep in her sleep, as she had guessed, so she just cast one last glance at her before she closed the door on her way out.

On the kitchen, she opened the fridge to get the milk to prepare Henry the breakfast, but then she decided to leave the cereals for another day, reopening the fridge again and getting eggs too. "Hey kid, wanna cook some pancakes with me?"

His head popped up from the sofa, a grin eating his whole face. Henry nodded and rushed to the kitchen, carrying his favourite dinosaur with him. Emma slid a chair for him to stand and reach the counter and started by pulling out a big bowl. She left him do the mixing until he almost lets the bowl fall to the floor, so she picked up on the mixing and left him to play with the flour that had fell on the counter. He made drawing of what he swore was a shark, which looked like a burrito to Emma, while she made the pancakes.

When they were done, Emma left the dirty pan, bowl and the rest of the utensils in the sink before sitting down with Henry at the table. She poured some syrup on hers and handed Henry the bottle, but he pushed too hard and it made a mess on the table.

"Shit, kid. Your mom is going to kill me," she said as she tried to clean it with a napkin. "Don't tell her I said shit in front of you. Nor that I did it again."

"I thought you'd know you can't get my son on your side by now," Emma heard. She raised her head and found Regina leaning on the wall, her arms crossed on her chest and an arched eyebrow that accompanied a smug smile.

"I tried," Emma shrugged.

Regina walked closer, placing a kiss to Henry's head before reaching for the napkins and helping them clean the syrup. Once it was done, she joined them at the table, leaning in to kiss Emma's cheek. "Thanks for the pill," she whispered. Emma smiled in return and slid her plate towards Regina, standing up to get another for herself.

"Mom, look," Henry said standing up. He grabbed his mother's hand and tugged to make her join him. He brought her to the counter and pointed at the flour. "'Ma thinks this is a burrito but it's a shark. Tell her it's a shark."

Regina looked at it and then back to Emma, who was trying not to laugh. The brunette turned back to Henry and smiled, "It's the best shark I've ever seen, sweetheart."

Henry raised his eyebrows at Emma and smiled smugly. "Told you!"

After they came back to their seats, Emma leaned in as she served Regina. "That was a lie," she whispered.

"Reasonable lie," Regina replied in a hushed tone. She reached for the syrup, surprising both Emma and Henry who had Regina as the healthiest among them. "What" she asked with a shrug. "I like syrup too."

She cut a piece of the pancake and hummed when she tasted it. Emma winked Henry, who giggled and leaned his dinosaur over the pancakes, simulating it was eating too. It was late for them, already past 11, but it was Sunday and it felt cosy, so they just enjoyed what they had left of the morning together.

* * *

Killian stalked into the room like he owned the place, making Emma roll her eyes. She was already waiting at the meeting room, along with Regina and one of the big bosses of . Regina had insisted that it wasn't necessary for her to be there, but Emma didn't want to miss the look on his face when he signed.

He shot a glance at the two women and raised an eyebrow, realising the space between them. However, he was quiet until he took a seat. "Good morning, ladies."

Clara, one of the head boss, was aware of the reason of the end of the contract. Regina had told her, skipping some parts, when she had asked for the reason as to why they were cutting off the relationship with such an important company. The moment she heard it, she was calling the CEO. They had decided not to take it further than that, knowing that unfortunately reporting him wouldn't have much effect on him or his career, but they would at least cease any relationship with him.

Regina slid the papers towards him and handed him the pen in silence, watching him with the same fire Emma had witnessed the night he had found them. He huffed and hunched in to sign, only looking away from Emma when the pen toughed the page.

The moment his signature was visible, Clara stood up, offering a hand. "Thank you, Mr. Jones."

He took his time to stand up to shake her hand, like if he didn't want to leave. When he finally did it, Clara grabbed the contract and left the room without even saying goodbye to him. Once she was gone, he smiled but it was so fake anyone could notice that from miles away.

"What a pair," he just said. "Is everyone here aware of this?" he added, pointing at them with two fingers. They remained quiet though and he laughed. "I'd paid to see the look on your bosses when they found out boss and worker are in a lesbian relationship."

"Fuck off," Emma spit out, which made him laugh again.

Regina, on her side, remained calmer and just drew a smug smile. "I hope you haven't forgotten our little chat this weekend. Perhaps you need a reminder?" His lip curled up in disgust and shook his head. "Good."

He shot them one last glare before strolling out of the room. When he was out, Emma finally released the breath she had been holding, both from the tension and the bad smell. Regina reached for her hand beneath the table and squeezed, but Emma remained looking down.

After a while, Regina wrinkled her forehead. "Emma?"

However, all Emma could hear was what Killian had said. She tried to shake it off, but now that he had said it, it hit her and she couldn't understand why they weren't public yet. It had been months now and keeping a secret was becoming harder. They had gone out and Killian had seen them. Luckily, it had been him, but it could be anyone else next time; they had just been lucky and avoiding places near work. As much as she hated to admit it, Killian had been right on the spot, and although everything was going fine, Emma suddenly felt the need to come out about this.

Next to her, Regina leaned closer, "Are you all right?"

Emma shook her head slightly, making her curls wave around her. When she raised her gaze, her eyes were strained. "Why are we still a secret?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a sucker for fluff. And angst.


	18. Chapter 18

_Emma shook her head slightly, making her curls wave around her. When she raised her gaze, her eyes were strained. "Why are we still a secret?"_

"What?" Regina asked. "What's…Is this about what that dirt bag said?"

"I mean, Ruby and Peter were openly a thing. She's even open about her polyamorous relationship, although not anymore because now she's only with Belle, but," Emma continued like if she hadn't heard Regina. "There's nothing wrong about it. We've been together for months; they won't think I'm taking advantage of you or vice versa. We're all grown ups here."

Regina's frown grew deeper, "I thought we had discussed this."

"We did, but it's different now. I don't know," Emma shrugged. "I want to be able to kiss you without worrying about being caught. We have managed pretty good, but I kinda need more."

"This comes out of what that dickhead said about us?" Regina asked again, raising her voice slightly. "First of all, Peter and Ruby were open but he wasn't her direct boss. I know relationships in the workplace are not forbidden, but I really thought it would be the best for us to be valued at work. We're women, we live in a fucked up society in which we have to work twice harder than men and you know that. I just wanted us to enjoy what we had ourselves without drama in our jobs."

Emma blinked at Regina's speech. "You're really throwing that hand now?"

"What hand?"

Standing up, Emma started to pace around the table. "I know all that but I don't care. I do my job and I do it twice better than anyone in the office, you know it. I work my ass of to get everything on time and giving the best I've got. So what? I am in a relationship with my boss. Shit happens!"

"It's not that you care or not. It's about if  _they_ care," Regina insisted standing up too. However, she remained in front of her chair, following Emma with her eyes.

The blonde threw her hands in the air before stopping in front of Regina, placing them in the table. "Giving importance to what they care it's what makes it real. I'm not going to change just because people are so immature they think we cannot be professionals. I mean look at us," she said waving her hands between them, "we're one hell of a team and we even were when we barely spoke to each other those first days."

Regina stared at her for a moment, biting her lip as a sign she was debating something in her mind, until she calmly took a seat and sighed. "You're right."

It was so sudden she blinked and tilted her head, "What?"

"You're right," Regina just shrugged. "It's not the best way to express it and you got a little aggressive over the whole issue but I can understand why it affects you so much. They have to learn instead of us having to adapt."

Emma took a seat, her eyes still glued to brown ones. They sat quietly in the meeting room, face to face as they took in the situation and calmed down their nerves. After a while, she sighed. "It's not like I care about what  _he_ said, you know."

"I know," Regina just said with a nod.

Their gazes met, crossing the table. Emma's lips attempted a smile, but it didn't go beyond pursed lips. "It was a little aggressive, but you did too."

Regina considered it and decided to nod along, "Perhaps. It's been tense today."

"Yeah." Some air escaped Emma's mouth, not quite chuckling and more like a scoff. "But on the bright side we got rid of him. Hopefully forever."

"Hopefully," Regina repeated.

She stood up and rounded the table to get to Emma's side. She offered a hand and when Emma took it, she tugged strongly and brought the blonde between her arms. In one swift move, Regina's hands were cupping Emma's face and their lips found in the middle. After a moment, it hit Emma and she leaned back.

"The blinds are up," she said carefully.

A smile peaked its way out of Regina's lips softly as she leaned in to press another kiss to her girlfriend's. "I know," she murmured into her mouth.

"But wait," Emma insisted pushing back. "I want you to really want that, not because I was upset about it. This has to be a compromise on both sides."

She searched in Regina's eyes the truth. Of course she wanted to go public, but she also wanted for Regina to be comfortable in the relationship, so it was a tricky situation. If they did this, they needed to be on the same page.

Regina nodded. "I do want it." Emma stared and waited for her eyes to look away or the remorse in the brown orbits, but it never came. Instead, she found true honesty. The grin washed away any worry she had shown on her face and Regina returned it just as wide before sealing the silent agreement with a kiss.

* * *

After a couple days still adapting to not worrying to be seen, they started to get used to it. They didn't have to stand three feet away in the elevator anymore and they could even kiss each other good bye. Emma could feel people around them looking at them curiously, but so far she hadn't gotten any complaint or grudge.

She glimpsed Regina's slender form over her cubicle, talking to one of the workers in the middle of the office. A smile formed in her lips, but she was snapped back into the present when David leaned next to her, leaving a large cardboard.

"Hey, I got the last sample," he said with a furrow. "I wanted you to give it one eye because I'm not totally convinced of how it looks."

Emma glanced down and focused on what her friend needed, zoning out of Regina's presence for a moment. The brunette approached the cubicle and noticed they were staring intently something in the desk, so she rounded it and leaned forward to take a look as well.

"Is this the final aesthetic?" she asked, startling both David and Emma.

"Jesus," David chugged. "I mean, no. It isn't."

"Good, because I don't like how the colours won't match in these," she explained pointing at one of the parts of the whole. "I think, taking as a reference the colours of the company, perhaps we should get a shade lighter of that one and counter it to the red of the corporate shades."

The three of them turned to glance at the cupboard, imagining how it would look, and both Emma and David nodded at the same time. "Yeah, I think that would work. Could you change it Daves?" Emma asked raising her gaze.

"Sure thing," he shrugged.

"Good," Regina praised. Then, she turned to face Emma. "Henry's play is this weekend. Do I count you in?"

"Of course," Emma said rolling her eyes. "And save a few more seats. Perhaps we could bring the gang for support."

David looked in between them as the exchange happened, trying to hide his surprise and confusion. Regina considered Emma's petition and nodded, leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek before leaving. When the blonde turned to David, his eyes were wide open.

"Did she just kiss you?" he wondered. Emma blushed and nodded slowly, half expecting for him to judge her. "Oh my God she's the secret admirer you had!"

"Uhm, yeah. We've been in a relationship for a while…" she confessed.

His face lit up with a smile and started to laugh. "Man, I'm so blind. Of course! I always thought there was a tension between you two," he chuckled, nudging her shoulder. "You sneaky girl. You actually look good together."

It took her aback how good he took it and shared a laugh, letting out the tension. "Thanks. Now go change the colours!" she chuckled, pushing him away jokingly. His lips drew a crooked smile and raised both eyebrows a few times, making Emma roll her eyes, her own unstoppable grin ever present.

In less than 10 minutes she had messages from Mary Margaret and Ruby, one congratulating her and the other asking why she was the last one to see a kiss when she had been the first to know. It actually went pretty well, not at all as Emma had expected and she could tell Regina was relieved as well.

That evening Regina asked her to go to the park with Henry to finally meet Marian. When they arrived at the play area, it was full of kids running around and parents and babysitters raising their heads to find their kids in the chaos. The minute they set a foot in the sand, Henry took off, running towards the swings while Regina searched for Marian among the people on the benches.

She spotted her a couple benches away and her hand slid into Emma's as she lead them towards their new friend. Marian waved at her when she saw Regina and smiled warmly at them once they stood in front of her.

"Regina, you made it!" she cheerfully said, raising to her feet and hugging Regina. When they separated, she set her eyes on Emma and arched an eyebrow. "And you must be the famous Emma."

"Emma, this is Marian," Regina introduced them.

The blonde was going to raise her hand for a handshake but Marian asked first, "Are you comfortable with hugs?"

"Yes?" Emma half said, half asked glancing at Regina before she was wrapped in a tight hug. "Oh." She hugged Marian back and then all of them took a seat.

"I would introduce you to Roland but I must confess I lost him about twenty minutes ago in the herd of children," she laughed softly at her own joke.

Regina, sitting between Marian and her girlfriend, scanned the park as she searched for Henry and she spotted him ready to go down the slide. She leaned back more relaxed. "It has been a long time since I brought Henry here. I had forgotten how many children there are."

"I know," Marian agreed. She mimicked Regina's movements and relaxed as well when she saw her son. "I was hoping they could meet but who knows if they even see each other," she laughed.

"Henry's not the kind of kid who likes to come and play with the rest of the kids, but he's been in a good mood lately because of the excitement of his play," Regina explained.

Emma just sat there, looking at the kids playing with each other and feeling slightly out of place. They were just two mothers talking about their sons, very much in a way those soccer moms would, so she felt like she didn't have anything to say about it and zoned out.

A hand found hers a second later, squeezing and when she lifted her gaze she met Regina's calming ones. "In fact he told Emma he didn't want anyone to know what it was about before we saw it," she said as a continuation from a conversation she hadn't heard.

Emma picked it fast enough though and nodded, "He's being quite secretive about it. We don't even know what character he plays."

Marian glanced at the hands linked and squealed slightly. "Aw you two are so cute." It made both of them blush, but it was covered by the cold of their cheeks. "Regina told me you stayed in charge of Henry when she was at the convention. Was it easy for you?"

"Not really," Emma shrugged. "Henry's quite quiet and he did not put up much trouble. He's the sweetest." She noticed Regina was grinning lovingly at her and held back the urge of rolling her eyes at her.

"Next time I go out of town I'm leaving Roland to you instead of my ex husband," Marian joked with a laugh. "The kid likes him but how could he not like him if Robin spoils him and buys him all he wants?"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Anyways," she continued. "Emma, tell me about what you do at Thero. Regina only spoke wonders about your work." Emma's cheeks covered with a plentiful dusting of pink from the attention and shifted in the bench to look at Marian.

* * *

After an evening at the park, talking and getting to know each other, Marian and Emma called for the kids while Regina searched Henry with her eyes. In a moment two little kids were in front of them, their clothes full of dirt as well as their skin, but a huge grin covered both faces.

They walked together, the adults behind the children to watch them as they played with invisible threats ahead of them, still talking. When they reached Marian's building, they stopped to say good bye with a promise to hang out together soon again and then they parted ways. Emma picked Henry up on her back and he giggled.

"You know, I'm surprised Marian doesn't own her own company. She looks ambitious," Emma said as they waited for a taxi to stop in front of them.

Regina nodded in agreement. "I thought the exact same thing when I met her, but I think she prefers to wait until Roland is a few years older." She glanced up at Henry and smiled. "I know I would."

Emma leaned in to press her lips to Regina's lips, not able to hold back how much she liked the woman in front of her, and Henry growled behind her, still on her back. The women laughed at him and Emma hopped him up, turning fast and running around Regina to make him laugh. When the taxi finally arrived, Emma sighed inwardly relieved, feeling her head dizzy.

* * *

"Henry I can't help you if you don't tell what you are trying to find," Regina explained with exasperation. He was thrown on the floor, his little hand searching on beneath his bed as she watched him with her hands on her hips.

He remained quiet, still loyal to keep the secret until the play started. She was about to scold him when he exclaimed, "Aha!"

He pulled out a measure tape and raised it above his head in victory before rushing outside. Henry bumped into Emma, who was walking towards his room. He almost falls, but he recovered quickly and kept running towards the front door where a bag rested in the foyer with all he needed for the play.

Regina emerged from him room and her gaze met Emma's questioning eyes. The brunette rolled her eyes, but a smile peaked its way out her lips. "I think we're finally ready to go."

"Cool," Emma said, holding her phone in her hand. "Ruby just called and told me she is on her way with Aurora and Mulan."

"Okay," Regina nodded curtly and Emma caught her expression.

"Hey," she said, her fingers brushing Regina's cheek as she pushed aside a dark strand of hair. "They'll love you, but if you're still too nervous about that I can tell them to turn around. It's an important day for Henry and I want you to enjoy it."

Regina leaned into Emma's hand when she cupped her face and smiled softly. "I'm a little nervous but it's fine."

"Are you two hundred percent sure?" Emma insisted, worrying about her girlfriend, but Regina nodded again and her lips curled up in a soft smile.

"Moms I'm ready!" they heard Henry yell from the entrance. Their eyes met when he referred them as his mothers and, while Emma's eyebrows shot up nervously, Regina's smile grew before she leaned forward and kissed her tenderly.

"Let's go," she murmured still against Emma's lips.

When they arrived at the theatre, they took Henry to the back of the stage where he ran to join the rest of the kids while they stalled behind to talk to his teacher about him. Turned out Henry was one of the youngest kids but still he managed to get a starring role. Before the teacher could reveal what it was though, Emma and Regina stopped him, shushing him to his surprise, so they still were as clueless as Henry wanted them to be.

Back into the auditorium, Emma glimpsed her friends sitting in the third row, speaking to Zelena and Marian who had been invited by Regina as well. As Regina had told Emma, turned out Zelena already knew about the two of them when she had told her. She confessed she had been suspicious when she heard Henry would be staying with her and, after dinner at Emma's, she was almost sure they had something going on. It looked like they were getting along because they were so caught up into the conversation they didn't notice the couple had arrived until they reached their side.

"Emma!" Ruby smiled when she looked up. She moved two seats away, making the other two girls move as well to make room for Regina and the blonde. "We were just saving your seats. Hey Regina."

Regina returned the smile and dipped her head as they took their seats between the two groups. Her sister tapped the seat next to her before they sat and Regina joined her, greeting Marian and Emma introduced her to Mulan and Aurora, who grinned toothily at her.

"Emma doesn't stop talking about you. I'm glad I can finally put a face to the woman," Mulan said, enjoying the blush that creped up in both faces.

Zelena cleared her throat and Regina rolled her eyes,

Soon they started to talk in different pairs. While Regina chatted to Mulan and Aurora, Emma was deep into a conversation with Ruby, Marian and Zelena. However, they didn't have much time to chat and the lights started to dim. The voices lowered down to a murmur that soon dissipated and the curtain revealed the stage.

Three children walked onto the stage and a round of applause accompanied them until they reached a microphone. One of them cleared her throat and started to narrate, "Once upon a time, many years ago, there was an emperor who ruled the entire kingdom."

Another kid cut in, leaning towards the microphone. "He liked clothes a lot and spent all his money on them. He also liked to walk around the town to show his beautiful clothes to everyone who lived there."

"One day," the third child continued, "two strangers strolled into town and demanded to see the emperor. They claimed to be weavers and offered the emperor something he couldn't let go."

They walked to the side of the stage and 4 other kids walked in. One was dressed as the emperor with a king to his head, another wore an armour and a sword and stood by him, while the other two were dressed casually. Henry was one of those two and when he glanced at the audience, he grinned when he saw Regina and Emma waving at him, but quickly looked away to perform his character.

He was one of the main characters and was almost all the time in the stage. He managed to recite all his lines almost correctly, only stuttering a few ones when he wasn't sure of them.

When the play finished with the narrators' ending, the audience burst into cheering and applauses while the kid broke from their characters and smiled at the crowd. Regina and Emma stood almost at the same time, clapping and whistling at Henry, who waved at them excitedly. They bowed a few times, and after a few words from the teacher, they ran down the stage still on their customs to meet their families.

Henry tackled his mother, who had stood up from the chair and looked up expectantly. "I was a weaver!" he revealed in case they hadn't understood.

Regina's shoulder shook with a soft laughter, nodding at him. "The best weaver."

"And a sneaky one," Emma added joining them.

Henry hugged her too, surprising all of them, and laughed along. He couldn't see the rest of the group though, because the teacher called him to go backstage and get dressed as well as to pick up everything they had left thrown around in the play, and the adults decided to wait for him at the hall where everyone else gathered to do just the same.

"Henry is quite good at this. You couldn't guess he's only 5," Marian praised once they were out.

Mulan's eyes opened wide, just like Aurora's. "He's 5? He looks so mature for that age! I mean he performed it so well."

"He got it from his favourite aunt," Zelena grinned fixing her hair.

Regina rolled her eyes, but she smiled proudly at her son's performance. "He did. He was so excited for this he really worked on it."

When he came out of the backstage, he ran towards them, finally seeing Zelena and hugging her too. "Hey Regina, I'm going to hire Henry as a weaver for him to make my clothes," she joked, making him giggle.

"It wasn't real, Z!" he chided playfully, making everyone laugh. He eyed the people he didn't know curiously as they said hello to him. As soon as they started to praise him though, his smile grew wider and prouder.

"Why don't we celebrate with an ice cream?" Regina suggested him as they walked outside to a sunny day, the first in a long time as if matching the joy of all of them.

"I would love to," Marian said, "but I have to pick up my son from his practice."

"Me too," Aurora added. "But Mulan promised she would show me her next art exposition." She glanced at Mulan, raising an eyebrow for a confirmation and getting a nod in response.

Emma shoot a pointedly look at Mulan, who subtly nodded and smiled. She nudged Ruby, who quickly caught up what was happening and both of them grinned at Mulan for encouragement.

"I'm afraid I will have to pass too," Zelena tsked, pulling a mirror from her purse and checking her make up. "I have to get to a certain fashion runway I can't talk about." She leaned to kiss the air next to everyone's cheeks and then hugged Emma, whispering into her ear. "If you ever dare hurting her—"

She didn't get to finish the sentence because Emma separated and shook her head, "I would never think of that."

"Good," Zelena smiled and then turned to a suspicious Regina. She hugged her too. "I know I never say it but you know I love you, right sis?"

Regina nodded, smiling softly, "I too"

"I know," Zelena grinned. She waved goodbye and they all watched her go outside before they decided to go out as well. They parted ways at a corner and the trio was left with Ruby, who put her hands inside the pockets of her jacket.

"Well, I better leave you too to enjoy some family time," she said already turning to go, but Regina stopped her.

"You can come too if you want. Henry can tell us all about how the play was made over ice cream," she suggested.

It surprised Emma that she was the one encouraging her friend to stay. She had been nervous too about the meeting, because everything had changed and she wasn't sure if Regina would like Ruby and accept her in. Definitely she at least didn't expect her to do it so quickly.

Ruby's face lit up at the invitation and nodded, "That sounds cool."

Henry tugged at Emma's jacket and lifted his arms without a word, but she quickly understood and kneeled down for him to climb up her back and held carefully tight to her neck like he had learned to do.

The four of them walked into the dinner and ordered one kind of ice cream each for all of them to taste in a competition. The flavour that won would have another round of it. While they were at it, and as Regina had said, Henry told them all the trouble that had been in the back because the emperor had lost his sceptre.

* * *

Emma didn't believe in karma, but she sure thought she must have done something good in her life for everything to go so well. She was succeeding at her job, her friendships were stronger than ever as soon as she finally came out about her girlfriend and she spent more time at Regina's than at her own place. She was really starting to believe that saying that prayed that sometimes life smiles at you. Even the weather started to get warmer as the days went by and in a month she could wear a t shirt to work without worrying to carry a jacket around with her.

It was one of those days when she walked out of 's building, heading towards Henry's school to pick him up. Regina was in a meeting and she had texted her if she could, and Emma had of course replied that there was no problem. He no longer had theatre class, so after picking him up she took him to Regina's to get a couple of toys and then marched to the park nearby.

It wasn't dark yet when Regina called Emma.

"Hey, we're at the park. How was the meeting?" she cheerfully asked.

Regina, however, answered like if her mind was somewhere else. "I'll tell you about it later. Are you at the fountain?"

"Yes. Are you okay?" she asked sensing the dullness of the brunette's voice.

"I'll be there in a moment," she just said before hanging up.

Emma tried not to give it a thought. Regina would probably be tired and she wasn't very talkative when all she wanted was a long relaxing bath, so she decided to let it go and play with Henry until she arrived. When Regina appeared though, she immediately felt something was wrong.

"Mom!" Henry ran to his mother and she smiled, but it lacked of the usual brightness. Emma approached them with a frown in her face, wondering what was going on, but whatever it was Regina didn't want Henry to know.

They took a seat in the grass, where Emma had put a blanket before, while Henry kept playing running around them. Emma glanced at Regina, who wouldn't look away from her son with a sad smile. She reached for the brunette's hand and held it, bringing the attention to her.

"Hey, is everything all right?" she asked although she already knew the response.

Regina opened her mouth very slightly, but only a sigh came out as she looked away again. It took her a moment, but when she finally spoke, Emma almost wished she hadn't.

"They're transferring me to another branch, on the other side of the country."

"What?" Emma lowly asked, hoping she had understood wrong, but Regina shrugged and turned to look at her, her eyes moist out of frustration.

"I have to be there next week. Turns out they need someone like me to help them out at the office," she sighed, shaking her head. "I asked for one thing when I was hired here and that was that they didn't transfer me."

"And they did it anyways?" Emma quietly asked, following Regina's gaze when she looked away to Henry.

"Yes. The contract didn't include any of that and they have me tied up. I can't even quit because I have a contract for at least 5 more years and no other company would hire me because they would give a bad recommendation letter," she explained.

They remained silent, but their hold in each other's hands grew stronger, like holding on to the moment. It hit Emma like a punch. She also had a contract that tied her up to the office for 3 more years before she could be transferred. Not only they would be separated, she knew what it meant for Regina, who had promised Henry it would be the last time they moved when they had come to the city.

"He will be fine," Emma murmured, reading Regina's mind.

The brunette didn't nod or move at all. She just watched him for a moment before finally looking down. "I promised him. I promised myself."

"Hey," Emma said tugging at her hand. Regina's eyes met hers and she tilted her head, cupping the brunette's face. "Don't be too hard on yourself. It's not your fault you're so good at your job."

Regina pursed her lips in the tiniest of smiles Emma had ever seen, but at least it was something. "It sort of is my fault. I didn't ask to have it written down in the contract. It was such a stupid slip."

"Slip or not, it's what it is and it's not going to be so bad," Emma tried to cheer her up. "Henry will be able to join another theatre class and he can perform in another play. You will save the company's office there and will be a hero."

Regina rolled her eyes and a burst of laughter erupted from her throat, but it didn't last long. She leaned forward and their foreheads touched as she closed her eyes. "What about us?"

Emma closed her eyes as well if only to hide her feelings, trying to be strong. "Come on, won't you think a bit of distance will be enough to take me away from you? It'll be fine, and hopefully not for long if you work hard as you always do and finish soon."

After a while, Regina nodded, but she curled up between Emma's eyes, silently asking for a hug. The sun was starting to set in the horizon and the sky was casting an orange shadow over the park. Emma repeated her words in her head to believe them herself, but by the time they stood up to leave, she still didn't.

* * *

After one last week they all made sure to enjoy together, a meal with Zelena and a night out with their friends, it was time for Regina and Henry to leave. They had already sent most of their belongings to their new house, so their baggage was only a trolley suitcase for both of them. Emma took them to the airport and waited with them until it was their time to go in.

She kneeled down to Henry's height and searched his eyes. He was upset and it was visible in his while form, but she tried to cheer him up. "Hey kid, don't be sad. I heard where you're going there's this giant toy store every kid dreams of," she whispered confidently.

He shrugged, unbothered, and Emma looked up to Regina before coming back to him. "Listen, I know you don't understand why this happens, but I can promise you it will be fine. You'll make a lot of new friends there and when I go visit you, you can introduce me to them."

"You'll visit?" he asked, finally raising his head, his shaggy hair bobbing around.

Emma smiled softly at him, "Of course I am. Who else going to help you with the kite if not me?"

He launched forward all of the sudden and hugged her tight, so tight she felt her lungs running out of breath, but she didn't have the heart to tell him so she just held him tight.

When she rose to her feet, a tear was threatening to fall from her eyes, but she held it back. Regina had the same expression and both knew soon they couldn't hold the tears back. They met in the middle in a tight hug, holding to each other like if it was the last time. It felt like it for them.

"We'll work it out," Emma whispered in her ear. "We talked about this. It's not like we're saying goodbye forever."

"I know." It came out like a strangled sob and Emma tightened her arms around Regina. They kissed one more time and when they separated, a single tear ran down the brunette's cheek. Emma wiped it away with a thumb.

"I'll go next week and it will be like if nothing had changed," she promised.

Regina nodded and sighed. "Emma, I—"

Emma placed her thumb in those plump lips she already missed, following the motion with her eyes. "Don't," she whispered. "It's not a goodbye, so don't make it one. Save it for the next time we meet."

"Okay," Regina whispered in return like preserving the privacy of the moment.

After a beat they separated and they heard the flight's call through the airport. "I'll see you soon!" Emma said as she waved goodbye. "Be good, kid."

She watched how they passed the door and the last thing she saw was Regina blowing her a kiss. She held onto that image and closed her eyes, standing in the middle on the airport. She sealed it to her brain and only when she was sure she would never forget, she opened her eyes and walked away, finally letting the tears run silently down her face.

* * *

First weeks were hard, but they still managed to go through it. As Emma had promised, she travelled to meet them the next weekend and marvelled over their new place. It was practically next to the beach and the weather was warm enough for them to spend most time there, whether swimming, playing with the sand or just sitting to enjoy the evening. The parting was harder, but they still had the promise of meeting again the next weekend. It was enough to keep going; it had to.

They spoke on the phone every day and sometimes they would skype each other at night to talk and even fall asleep together. The more days it passed, they more tired they were. It was a busy time of the year for advertising, since it was the time to plan the strategies of most of their clients, so more than often they would fall asleep after picking up the phone.

Visits became less frequent due to work, video calls soon were replaced by only calls and there were days when they were so tired one of them would fall asleep before they could phone each other. The time zone wasn't too different, but it was enough to pull them apart.

It was the beginning of summer when Emma travelled again, showing up by surprise in Henry's kindergarten graduation. She sneaked her way through the seats and fell next to Regina's abruptly, who was too busy looking at Henry to notice.

Regina was about to protest when she turned and saw Emma sitting next to her. She immediately wrapped her arms around Emma's neck and they almost fall to the ground. She peppered kisses all over Emma's face, but they didn't have much time to talk because the principal started to talk.

Henry had only attended two months to that school, but he still got a round of applause and cheers when he was given his diploma. Regina stood up and clapped as hard as she could with one hand as she recorded the event with the other, while Emma cheered for both of them next to her. When the ceremony finished and Regina walked over to Henry, his face lit up when he saw Emma, practically humping into her. She caught him in the air and lifted him high, making him giggle like the old times.

They went to a dinner after, Henry still wearing his little graduation hat and he spend the whole meal telling Emma all they had done since she had visited them for the last time. Henry had started to attend surf lessons, but he soon discovered he wasn't interested and dropped it to join the school's junior drama club.

Emma had asked for a few days free so she could stay for a little longer than a weekend that time, but it wasn't as good as she thought it would be. After the excitement of the surprise and the graduation, it all went back to normal, except Emma felt a little out of place when it came to their routine. Regina was busy most of the day, trying to finish the task she was given and when they were together they could feel the looming cloud of the farewell around the corner, both mentally counting how much time they had left.

It was their last night together. Emma would catch the first plane in the morning back to the city and, after Henry had gone to sleep, they were out in the house's terrace, enjoying the warm night. They were curled up in a cosy couch at the back porch.

"Do you think it gets easier?" Regina wondered quietly, almost startling Emma.

The blonde swallowed and shook her head slightly. "I don't know."

There were no more 'it will' or 'I hope so'. They were left to no hope. There was nothing else they wanted more than to make it work, than to be together and beat distance. They were sure they could, but it just didn't seem to work no matter how much they tried.

"Do you remember when I asked you about fate?"

"Don't go down that path," Emma tried to stop her, reading her mind, but Regina was already shaking her head.

"What if fate not only brings people together? What if it brings us apart?" Regina insisted.

Emma knew what this conversation meant. They had been delaying it but in the end it was inevitable. They didn't want to, but they had to. "After all that has happened, I don't know if I should believe in fate," Emma whispered as she brought Regina's chin up for their eyes to meet. "But I do believe that you are and will always be important for me. You and Henry. I'll always be there for you when you need it."

"I know," Regina whispered, closing her eyes and leaning forward to press their lips together. "I know."

Emma captured Regina's lips with hers, over and over again. She was furious at the world for not letting them have what they wanted, but Regina acted as an anchor with every kiss, pulling her down with her literally until they were laying on the couch. Their touched were tender but aggressive at the same time, trying to make that one last time matter, trying to make it longer so they didn't have to part.

The next morning Regina drove her to the airport and it was time for the farewell they had been delaying so much. For the first time there was no promise of another weekend, there wasn't any calming words to cling to when they left. There was silence, because they didn't need to say it for the other to feel it. The last call was the thing that finally made them part.

Emma turned back to look at Regina and she saw her blowing her a kiss. The brunette smiled at her and she returned it. It's not like she had much choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ouch, sorry.


	19. Chapter 19

Emma loved having vacation on September, when it was quiet and while everyone went back to work, she could enjoy that time for herself. That year though, she decided to stay working. It helped her disconnect from her life for a while and focus on what she had to do. She had spent the summer doing just that and going on vacation again, alone, would only serve her to do the last thing she wanted: to remember Regina.

She had moved on, sort of, and decided to work non stop the last half of the year, having her vacations during the holidays. She went to the outskirts again to spend it with Granny and Ruby, who also got her vacations during that time to be with her friend. Emma had never had a legal family, but for her they were her real family.

Against all expectations, eventually Emma quit her job. She liked what she was doing, but she needed something new to challenge her skills, and after a while talking to Mulan about it, she was hired in the art gallery as the marketing director with Aurora, the financial director. She started to do her own art, using the skills she had learned along the years of working in big companies, and Mulan exposed them all.

Secretly Emma always hoped to see Regina in one of the parties they threw when there was a new exposition, but she never came. She hasn't heard from her since that last good bye at the airport, but she figured it was the best way to heal the wound.

Mary Margaret and David got married some time in the spring in a beautiful private wedding to which everyone attended and Ruby got promoted to be the head of the department. She even saw Zelena one day on TV while she had breakfast. The redhead was talking about a new collection for her clothing line in a morning show and Emma smiled when she saw her. She would never admit it, but she searched for Regina among the audience, but she didn't seem to be there.

Long story short, life kept going, but Emma never forgot that brunette who blew her a kiss.

* * *

**A year later.**

"Oh, it looks like you've been here before, Miss Swan," the receptionist said as she eyed the computer.

"I was. Two years ago," she confessed as she readjusted the strap of her travel bag. She was back at the resort reception, two years later. She had hesitated when she made the reservation, knowing it would only bring a lot of memories back, but in the end she had loved that place and didn't know any other like that, so she booked 5 days.

The receptionist smiled at her. "Thank you for choosing us again. There you go," she said handing her the ID and the room key. "Room 210. You have to walk until the end of the hall and go up. The signs will help you find it. Have nice stay!"

"Thanks," Emma smiled. She picked up her belongings and followed the young girl's instructions, finding her room easily. As soon as she entered her room, she left everything on the floor and dropped on the bed.

She suddenly came back to those days when she would look at a ceiling almost identical to this and wonder if she would ever stand a chance with Regina. This time though, she was there only to relax, so she took a nap. Emma spent the first day inside her room, getting used to it again and the next morning she went grocery shopping to have some real food to eat instead of just frozen pizza.

It was the afternoon when she finally headed to the pool. As she had suspected there was a lot of free hammocks to choose from and she settled on one on the back. This time she didn't have a ball with her, only a towel, her headphones and the sunscreen. She zoned out, closing her eyes and enjoying the sun kissing her skin.

When it was hot enough, she stretched and set the headphones aside, walking to the pool still deep in thought. She jumped in, head first, and felt the contrast of her warm body to the cold water. She had closed her eyes, so she didn't see there was someone in front of her. As she emerged from the water, she collided with a body.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't see you there."

The person turned and Emma had to blink a few times to check her eyes weren't lying to her. In front of her there was a kid who looked so much like Henry she was speechless. He was taller, but his hair fell like Henry's did over his eyes.

He frowned and tilted his head, "Emma?" She scanned him again, recognising his voice, and he smiled, definitely recognising her. "Emma!"

Henry hugged her all of the sudden while she recovered from the shock. If Henry was there, that meant…

"I thought I'd never see you again. Mom said you were super busy in your new job," he explained.

New job? So she knew? Emma's head was trying to process all the information, but she didn't have time, because then she heard it.

"Henry, where did you leave the room's keys? I've told you a million times to—" she stopped when she raised her head, her eyes meeting Emma's. She was carrying a small purse, probably where she kept her phone, sunscreen and keys, and it fell at the edge of the pool as she stood there looking down.

"Emma," she breathed.

"Uh, hi," Emma said, smacking herself inwardly in her head for that lame greeting.

Henry, who was unaware of the tension, swam towards the edge of the pool. "Look who bumped into me!"

Regina glanced from Henry to Emma, raising an eyebrow, "Clumsy as usual."

"Can't change that," she chuckled. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would come out of her chest, but still she swam closer to them. "Vacations?"

Regina nodded, "September is the best time."

"I know," Emma smiled.

"Hey Emma," Henry interrupted them. "You have to see the videogame my mom bought me for my birthday. You're going to love it."

"Videogame?" she asked. "Where did Tiara the dinosaur go?"

Henry's cheeks covered with a plentiful dusting of pink, and before he could answer that, Regina said with a smile peaking its way out of her lips, "She's guarding his bed."

"Mom," he complained lowly. "I only brought it here out of pity," he explained Emma, who fought to hold back the chuckle.

"Sure."

"So what do you say? Are you coming for dinner? I can show it to you later," he suggested, looking up to his mother for permission.

Regina glanced at Emma and arched an eyebrow. "If Emma wants, she's always invited."

Henry's gaze fell upon Emma expectantly, waiting for her answer. She didn't give herself time for second thoughts and just nodded. "Yeah, I'll bring the wine."

"As long as you don't bring Chardonnay," Regina quipped in an inside joke, making Emma roll her eyes, the smile on her face betraying her.

"It was just one time."

Regina shrugged innocently. "Better safe than sorry. I'll see you around 7?"

"I'll be there."

"Awesome!" Henry exclaimed, turning back to Emma.

And just like that she suddenly was going to have dinner with them. More than a year later. Henry told Emma all about that game but her mind was still registering what had happened. She hadn't known about them for a year, she didn't know what had been about their lives when they had parted and there they were like if nothing had happened.

Henry still liked the pool, but he had gone from ball games to wrestling games jumping towards Emma aggressively. It really was like no time had passed between them and Henry took her in like if she hadn't disappeared from his life for a whole year. They played together until Regina started to pick up her towel and Henry got out of the pool, followed by Emma. He waved her goodbye, but Regina only dipped her head before they left.

* * *

Emma took a long shower, picturing in her mind different scenes to what would happen next. She wondered what Regina would say to her, if Henry would ask her anything about why she left or if they would tell her how it had been for them in all this time. More than half an hour later, she was in front of the room 108 having a flashback. She shook her head and knocked on the door, releasing a shaky breath.

Like if story was repeating itself, Henry opened the door, but this time Emma noticed he was in casual clothes. He smiled at her and stepped aside to let her in, calling his mother. "Mom, Emma's here." She glanced at Emma as he closed the door, "She's in the bedroom."

Emma stood awkwardly next to the door, twisting the bottle of wine she carried in her hands. "Okay."

He headed towards the living room and she followed him, guessing it would be the best option. The smell of bread greeted her as she walked inside their apartment and she smiled at the sight of the garlic bread already waiting for them at the table. She took a moment to leave the wine in the fridge and grabbed a piece of bread before joining him.

He un-paused the game as he jumped on the couch, leaving Emma room to sit at his side. As he played, he explained Emma what it was about as well as the control buttons, but suddenly she heard a door opening and when she glanced away from the TV screen, she stopped listening.

Regina appeared in sight wearing a blue dress, with a black strap across her neck. She was looking down and Emma was thankful for it when she felt her heart flutter at the other woman. However, Regina stopped when she glanced up and her eyes met bright ones.

"Emma," she just breathed. Her lips curled up in a shy smile and Emma was on her feet in a beat.

"Hey, I left the bottle of wine in the fridge. I hope that's okay," she explained walking into the open kitchen. She suddenly felt self aware of her simple white and blue stripped shirt and tight jeans, and felt the warmth of a blush threatening to appear in her cheek.

Regina's eyes fell upon the fridge and nodded, "Of course." Then, she walked over to the oven to turn it off after checking whatever she was cooking was ready. Emma briefly wondered how she knew it was already cook without setting an alarm, but then she realised it was Regina she was talking about; she was a natural cooker.

The brunette pulled out a plate out of the oven while Emma stood watching her, still mesmerized by the fact this was happening. Regina hip bumped the oven door and Emma swallowed. "Henry, dinner's ready. You'll show Emma the game later," she called.

He paused the game and rushed to get a seat. Regina took one next to him so they left Emma only one option next to Regina. She took a seat and cleared her throat, aware of the tension floating in the room.

"How's the art gallery going?" Regina was the first to ask, serving Henry and then herself, handing Emma the big spoon for her to serve herself. "I heard it's being quite successful."

"Uh, yeah. It's going great actually. Mulan is delighted about the future expectations for it," Emma explained. "There's going to be a big project soon about fall and stuff."

"Mom said you paint," Henry said, his mouth full of food. Regina glared at him and he swallowed the bite, but it was unclear to Emma if the glare had been because of that or because of what he had revealed.

A soft, pink blush covered her face like it always did when people referred to her work. "Sometimes. It's mostly collages with pictures more than painting," she tried to shrug it off.

"Impressive," Regina commented. Emma lifted her gaze and met the other woman's, but it was impenetrable and she couldn't read her.

"Thanks," she murmured coming back to the meal. "What about you? Are you still at Thero I guess?"

"It's my last year, actually," she revealed. Emma's head shot up and tilted to a side; Regina had a contract and if her calculations were correct she still had at least 3 years of contract. "I've been talking to Marian and we're going to set up our own company."

"Oh, really?"

Regina nodded, "Perhaps in a year we'll be settled. We still have to plan everything."

"That sounds cool," Emma commented. She had seen her a few times and they had even talked over coffee sometimes, but she didn't know anything about that. But if Marian was in town that meant the company would be set there. Regina would be back again.

"I was Peter Pan this year on the school's play," Henry cut in with a grin. "I even had these straps that would make me fly around the stage. It was awesome. Wish you had been there to see it."

It hit Emma right her chest, but she quickly recovered and smiled proudly at him. "You'll never stop getting the principal roles, won't you? Stealing the spotlight."

He laughed softly and blushed, shrugging it off. "It was just because I was the oldest."

"It wasn't," Regina interrupted him. "He earned it."

Emma could see the pride in Regina's eyes, shinning bright as she smiled at her son. If she was sure of one thing, was that Regina put Henry over anything in her life and Emma admired that trait of her, the deep love for her son.

They quickly finished dinner and Henry dragged Emma along to the couch, handing her a control this time for them to play together. She tried to resist, offering to wash the dishes, but Regina quickly dismissed them with kind eyes.

Emma played with him, but her eyes kept drifting towards Regina. The dress was open in the back and it kept distracting her from the game, so she would always lose to him. Henry, oblivious to what Emma was really paying attention to, raised her hands in the air victorious and laughed.

When Regina joined them, Emma was surprised when she took a seat next to her. "He's beating you," she commented, her lips pursed in a tiny smile.

"He's not."

"I am," Henry chuckled. "Show her how it's done, mom."

Much to Emma's surprise, Regina extended a hand and waited for her to hand her the control. Arching an eyebrow, Emma did and leaned back expectant to watch how they played together.

Three rounds later, they were 2 to 1 for Henry, but Regina was giving all she had. They ended up in a tie and Henry laughed at Emma's face. Arching an eyebrow, Regina shrugged and stood up. "Fancy a cup of wine outside?"

It was bold. It was sudden. It made Emma's heart skip a beat at the fluttering eyelashes thrown at her. "Sure," she accepted.

They left Henry alone to play and moved to the terrace, sliding the door almost close for privacy and filling the two chairs that looked like they were waiting for them. Regina poured the wine in Emma's glass, sliding it towards her before filling her own. They took a sip and remained silent, both going over the million questions that roamed their minds.

It was Emma who broke the silence. "I would have never guessed you played like that."

Regina raised her gaze up at her. "I learn a lot of things for Henry. He's a lonely kid, so I try to always know about his interests. Even if it means going for that rap phase," she added rolling her eyes.

"Rap phase?" Emma laughed

Regina nodded, "I learned to beat box because he said he needed a base. It took him 2 months to let it aside in favour or learning to ride a bike."

Emma's eyes opened a little wider as she left the glass on the table. "Wait, you know how to beat box? You have to show me."

"I'm not doing it."

"Please," she begged.

"No way," Regina said shaking her head. "That would be embarrassing."

"I know," Emma smiled. "That's kind of why I want you to do that."

Regina shot her a glare but soon she was grinning along with Emma, shaking her head again at the memory of Henry trying to rap. The silence took its place again, flying around them. "You know, it's funny to see you here," Regina revealed after a moment.

Emma tilted her head. "Why?"

Regina's finger ran over the glass' edge smoothly while she followed it with her eyes. "We came a week later than we were supposed to last year, half hoping to don't see you and half hoping you would. I asked to the receptionist if you had been around and she said no though."

"I didn't come last year," Emma confirmed it.

Regina nodded, like if she already knew that. "So this year I thought you wouldn't show up. I really didn't expect you."

"Surprise," Emma joked, earning a soft laugh from Regina. "I imagined you wanted you space since you disappeared from earth and I never knew anything about you. I guess I needed space too."

"You're right."

Emma frowned. "About what of what I just said?"

Regina's lips curved in a side smile, "All of it." She rested the glass on the table and stretched her neck. "I did hear from you though. The art gallery and all that, as you already must know."

"I guessed it when you asked. Creep," she quipped. Quietness filled the space between them, with less tension now but the unasked questions still hanging around.

"I find impressive you can still lift Henry," Regina said after a beat. "Your arms always impressed me, ever since the first time I saw you."

Emma stared at Regina considering if it was the alcohol kicking in or if it was just the excitement to be back together. She didn't have a right answer when she smiled, "I could lift you too."

"Let's better not try. I wouldn't want for this to end up with one of us in the hospital," Regina chuckled.

A knock on the glass door pulled them out of their bubble and they turned to look. Henry opened the door and poked his head outside, "I'm going to bed mom." Regina glanced at the clock inside and nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow Emma?"

The blonde nodded and he smiled, breathing 'cool' under his breath before sliding the door close again. He turned off the lights when he left, so it was only the dim light of the terrace that allowed Emma to see Regina's profile.

The night goes on as they catch up, always avoiding the big elephant in the room and settling on neutral topics. They laughed together when they saw a group of drunk friends on the street and one of them hit a lamp post, and revelled in the sound of the other woman's laughter.

It was almost midnight when they felt silent again, finishing the last drop of wine they had left. They were running out of neutral topic as fast as their chests felt warmer. Emma's gaze was intense on Regina, who was glancing out on the street seemingly deep in thought. She hadn't changed a bit, still as regal as always, and still as beautifully unreachable.

She sighed and before she could fully realise she had said it out loud, she blurted out, "I missed you."

Regina's head turned, making her hair wobble over her eyes for a moment, and Emma could see in her eyes what she meant without even saying it out loud, "Emma…"

"I know, I know," the blonde nodded. "I just…ugh." She closed her eyes, throwing her head back in frustration, and she couldn't see how Regina's gaze lowered as the tiniest of the smiles peered in the corner of her lips.

"You know, you're quite a charmer," she started, making Emma open her eyes and look at her. "I couldn't pick a moment in which I specifically said I liked you, I guess since I first saw you, but there's this one moment…When I saw you almost out of breath, wearing that cowboy costume with that hat that looked ridiculously cute on you all worried about being late at Henry's scheduled candy hunt, that was the moment I knew I wanted you in my life forever."

Emma swallowed as their eyes locked, flooding with feelings they couldn't express, until the blonde exploded. "I loved you. I was never brave enough to say it out loud but boy did I love you. I loved you like crazy, fiercely." She paused and added lowly, "I still do."

It took one look from Regina to confirm she was loved in return, so she stood without thinking about it twice and leaned down in front of the other woman's chair. Their lips were a breath away and there was nothing more she wished for than to kiss Regina, but she stopped and searched her eyes.

"Do you want me to stop?" she asked.

Regina's hand cupped her cheek. "No. Don't ever stop."

Their lips touched and everything else they wanted to say was shown in the kiss. Words left unsaid, kisses they didn't share, tears they shed for months. The love they shared for each other. Regina stood up to firmly kiss Emma and the blonde wrapped her in her arms, lifting her from the floor.

When they separated, they remained close, their foreheads touching. "Let's try it again," Regina said in a whisper. "And again, and again, and again. I don't want to lose you."

"You never lost me. You never will," Emma promised, stealing another kiss. They took a moment to catch their breaths and suddenly the blonde laughed. "I lifted you from the floor."

Regina rolled her eyes, the grin adorning her face from ear to ear. She couldn't stop herself and kissed Emma, her fingers combing through golden tresses, getting tangled.

"What are we going to do?" Emma murmured, not quite daring to break the intimacy.

"We'll figure it out. I promise," Regina mumbled back against her lips. Their fingers linked and she tugged, bringing Emma with her as she walked backwards and stumbled to open the door.

They kissed their way to the bedroom, and were just about to close it, when Emma whispered, "Wait. What about Henry?"

"He misses you as much as I do. He'll love to have you back."

Emma couldn't conceal the smile at that, knowing how much it meant coming from Regina, but she also smiled at the situation. "I meant if his door's closed."

The brunette glanced back to check. "Oh." The door was closed, so she turned back and nodded. Emma laughed and wrapped her arms around Regina's waist bringing her closer.

"I love you, Regina."

Regina kissed her, pushing her inside the room and closing the door behind them, and only when she was on top of Emma, kissing her, she murmured. "I love you too, Emma."

* * *

**Years later.**

"Mooooooom," a teenage Henry called as he entered the office. Emma and Regina raised their gaze at the same time from the computer and he rolled her eyes. "I meant Ma. Where are the car keys?"

"Shouldn't you know? You were the last one who drove the car," Emma said raising an eyebrow and jarring her hands on her waist.

Henry glared at her and sighed. "Come on. I need to be in Grace's in 20. We're going to be late to the play."

"You should have thought about that before you threw the keys wherever you wanted," Regina commented as her eyes drifted back to the computer.

"Ugh," Henry huffed. "You two are the worst when you team up." He walked out of the offices throwing his hands in the air and Emma and Regina glanced at each other with a mischievous smirk on their faces.

"Should we…?" Emma started to ask, but Regina shook her head.

"No, let's make him suffer a bit more. He wasn't even ready yet so when he is he will come back."

As she had predicted, 5 minutes later Henry walked into the room again. "Okay, I know I'm a mess with the keys, but I really need them right now. If you could please, please, tell me where they are?"

"What do you say?" Emma asked, looking at Regina. "Should we let him catch the subway?"

Henry's mouth dropped open and blinked at them while Regina glanced at him and smiled. "How could we let him go on subway? Look at how handsome he looks in his tuxedo. He's a man now picking up his girl for a date."

The apple red started to spread over Henry's cheeks, but he didn't let that get him down and rolled his eyes. "I'm going to be late for the date."

Emma and Regina smiled at each other one more time, the blonde biting her lip to stop the laughter at bay. She fished into her pocket and threw the keys towards him. Henry caught them in the air with a bright, relieved smile.

"But next time you won't be so lucky!" Regina scolded him.

"Yeah, leave them in the bowl at the foyer when you come back," Emma picked it up. "We bought it for a reason."

"Yeah, yeah," he waved his hand while he texted with the other. He put his phone back into his pocket and stood straight. "Do I look good?"

Both women rounded the desk and stood in front of a nervous Henry. He dried his palms in his pants and looked at them expectantly. Regina rested her head over Emma's shoulder and smiled.

"I think he looks a little like he's wearing a sac," Emma quipped.

Henry threw her a glare and pulled out his tongue. "I'm serious! I'm trying to make an impression here."

"You are the most handsome young man I've ever seen," Regina praised him. He smiled widely at her and then to Emma, who let all the jokes aside and nodded.

"You look like a star, kid."

He was 18 now, and he had told her million times he was not a kid anymore so she should not call him that, but he didn't meant it because it had become his nickname ever since they met that day in the pool.

"Good," he sighed relieved. He took a step forward and brought both his mother in his arms in a tight but short hug. "I'll see you later!"

Before he left the room, Regina reminded him, "Don't forget tomorrow is our turn to Sunday's lunch and—"

"I know, the gang will all be here," he nodded. "Will Rubes bring Skittles?"

"Sometimes I think you love that dog more than you love us," Emma joked. "I think they are all coming. Marian with Roland, Ruby, Belle, the Charmings and Mulan told me she was almost sure she and Aurora could make it."

"Awesome!" He grinned. "Now I really gotta go. I love you!"

"Love you too," Emma and Regina said at the same time as they watched their son go. Once they heard the front door closing and were left alone, Emma turned and rounded Regina's waist with her arms.

"Look at him, going out in dates. He's growing so fast," Regina murmured, half happy, half sad.

"You're so dramatic," Emma quipped. "He'll always be your little kid, we all know that."

Regina sighed and walked over to the chair where she took a seat and Emma stopped next to her in the same fashion she had, bending over to look at the screen. There was a picture of the three of us in the pool. Henry was around 10, sandwiched between them, and he was making faces while Emma smiled almost widely at the camera she was holding and Regina's forehead was leaning in her son's head. She hated when her hair was all laid back, and in the last moment of the picture she had turned her face, but she was smiling too. It was one of Henry's favourite pictures.

"Do you think he has any suspicion about the surprise party tomorrow?" Emma asked.

Regina shook her head as she pressed print on the screen, clicking to proceed. "I told him Marian and I needed your help in a project so he thinks this is all work."

The printer roared to life behind them, revealing the picture they had been staring at in an effort to choose among the bunch of other ones they had gathered. Emma picked it up and put it inside a frame.

"Et voilá. The perfect choice. Final gift, done," she said drawing in the air a check. Regina laughed and stood up, hugging Emma from behind. She pressed a kiss to her cheek and guided Emma's hands, helping her leave the frame on the table. Their finger intertwined and she held tight.

"You are the perfect choice."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you to everyone who kept giving me feedback, reviewing and favoriting and following this. Without you, this wouldn't have been possible. Much love!


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